


The Sun and all of its Stars

by BetweenLines55



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: BOO spoilers maybe?, M/M, fanfic-the-eighth-wonder.tumblr.com, it has a special place in my heart, lots of pet names, solangelo, southern headcanon will, this pairing was the first I ever wrote fanfic about, tropes galore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-30
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-02-19 09:56:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 73
Words: 32,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2384057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetweenLines55/pseuds/BetweenLines55
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Solangelo drabbles, mostly from my tumblr. If you feel the need, please request something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Swings

"W-will, I can do it myself."

"Nico, this is a date, I can do it for you."

"Would you just get on your own damn swing, Solace?"

"Gods above, darlin', fine. I'll get on my own swing."

Nico sat testily on the swing beside Will, content to dig the toes of his boots into the muddy ground below him. Will, however, felt the need to pump his legs until he was soaring a good 8 feet off the ground. Though slightly annoyed, Nico still looked at Will fondly; the son of Apollo's odd and incredibly endearing love for childish things was one of Nico's favorite things about him.

It was completely like Will to suggest going to the park for a date. 

 _Date._ That word still sounded foreign when Nico thought and spoke it, like it was still weird for him to think he was allowed to have fun and enjoy his time with Will. Will, who looked like the happiest man on earth as he passed by Nico with a current of air. Will, who had held his hand all the way to the park, and had bought him an ice cream cone from a vendor. 

Will, who jumped neatly from the swing still high in the air like a man possessed with a bright smile on his face. "Alright, c'mon, I'll push you on the tire swing."

Nico hesitantly planted his feet on the ground and stood up, wary of the other swing still swinging violently from Will's decent. "Why are you so keen on pushing me on the swings?"

"Cause," said Will, "you look like you are having absolutely no fun sitting on the swing all by your lonesome. Please, it'll be fun."

In the end, Nico gave in, and let Will pull him along to the tire swing hung a little farther from the jungle gym. Nico put his legs through the opening, holding on the to chain above him and feeling incredibly ridiculous as Will pulled the swing back and let it go.

But it made Will laugh, as Nico swung back and forth--the son of one of the most feared gods in the Greek pantheon getting pushed on the swings by his boyfriend. Well, when put like that it was enough to make anyone chuckle. 

After a while, Will slowed the swing down, which was good because Nico had started to feel a little woozy. "Now was that really so awful?" Will asked. Nico shook his head.

"Ha, I knew it." Will said, before swooping down and kissing him. Man, Nico thought, that's going to take some getting used to too. Will, and his impulsive displays of affection. Even so, Nico kissed back and smiled when Will brushed along the curve of his jaw with his thumb.

"Now," Will said, the wild, impulsive grin gracing his face again, "you have to push me!"


	2. Nightmare fixes

The soft sound of Will breathing was the only thing keeping Nico from crying. He would be fine in a couple of minutes, no need to wake Will up just because he had one nightmare. He could deal with nightmares. He’d done it before and he could do it again. 

Carefully, trying his best to not disturb the sleeping son of Apollo, Nico threw the covers back, getting to his feet to go to the bathroom. He took a few deep breaths in front of the mirror, splashed some water of his face and turned the light back out. When he returned, there was Will, blinking sleepily up at him with eyes so blue Nico was still awed by their color sometimes. 

"Hey."

"Hi." Nico muttered.

"You ok?" Will asked, propping himself up on one elbow to look at Nico better. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"It’s nothing I can’t handle." Nico said, sitting back on the bed and idly picking at a loose thread in the duvet. 

"I’m sure," Will said, and he sounded sure, "but it doesn’t mean you have to. Come here."

And so Nico went, melting into Will’s arms as the older boy wrapped them around him. Will’s scruffy face dug into Nico’s forehead a bit but it wasn’t quite a bad sensation. Callused hands came to rub small circles on Nico’s back and the heat of Will’s body alone caused the tension to go from Nico’s muscles. He fit so nicely against Will’s body, like a puzzle piece. 

"Ti amo, tesoro." Nico said quietly into the curve of Will’s neck. 

"Love you too, darlin’. Now try to get some sleep." 

So that’s what Nico did, wrapped up in the safest place he knew. 


	3. C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off of a tumblr post by jasonluvsnico--I actually had to look up the lyrics for this

In all honesty his first warning sign should’ve been when Will broke out his ukulele. Will  _never_  broke out the ukulele unless he had something planned. And for a son of the sun god, he was downright devious at times. 

At least it kept things interesting.

"Ahem." Will said, gathering the attention of all the campers seated in the amphitheater. "I have a very special song I would like to sing a very special person. Nico di Angelo, if you could please stand?" 

Nico got slowly to his feet and already didn’t like where this was going. 

And then, Will started playing.

“ _Let’s gather ‘round the campfire and sing our campfire song—”_

"Oh, gods, Will, no. Anything but this." Nico pleaded. 

“ _—our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song.”_

"Will, please. I will give you whatever you want." 

The little shit only grinned and walked closer. “ _And if you think we can’t sing it faster than you’re wrong, but it’ll help if you just sing along!”_ _  
_

Some asshole, it sounded like Connor, Travis, or possibly both Stolls, yelled out, “ _BOM BOM BOM.”_

This, of course, only spurred Will on more. “ _C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song, _C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song, and if you think we can’t sing it faster than you’re wrong, _C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song!”___

The rest of the camp was quick to join in and finish out the song with a flourish and Nico almost died of embarrassment on the spot. Of course, though, when Will looked at him with that winning smile, Nico grabbed him by the shirt front and proceeded to kiss the living Hades out of him. 


	4. My First Kiss Went a Little Like This *pucker sounds*

He was cute, Will knew. Plenty cute. And plenty demure for having a mouth like a sailor. He was good at making himself small, and unnoticeable. But hell, Will always noticed him. Noticed the way his cheeks got pink when they held hands or when Will made eye contact with him from across the amphitheater during sing-a-long time. 

For a boy capable of raising armies and slaying enemies with a look, Nico di Angelo should not have such pretty lips. They were bow shaped and slightly pink and pouty and Will sort-of-kind-of wanted to kiss them maybe. 

But who could blame him, really? They’d been dating for almost three weeks now and hadn’t done much more than hold hands because Nico wasn’t huge on the whole PDA thing which was fine, sure, Will knew. 

But c’mon, Nico di Angelo had lips made for kissing and if anyone was going to kiss him it should be Will. Right?

He would fight for that kiss. He just had to find the right moment. 

And found it he did. Aphrodite or Cupid or whoever must’ve been smiling down on him that day because it was after campfire and Will had the perfect opportunity to walk Nico back to cabin 13. 

Nico’s hand fit very nicely into Will’s; it was small, with lean fingers, and perfect for rubbing circles into the back of with his thumb. And Nico liked to walk close to him, close enough to smell his deodorant and the slight smell of smoke from the fire.

As cabin 13 grew larger in the foreground, Will gathered up his courage and said a quick prayer to his father and whoever else was listening. Nico turned to offer him a good bye hug and Will leaned in for the grand finale.

Nico’s lips were as soft as they looked, and the little surprised gasp that left Nico as he was kissed was the perfect chance for Will to sneak in a little tongue. He tasted sweet, like the marshmallow’s he’d had at the campfire and in between puckering up, Will said another silent thank you to the gods.

"Um," Nico said when they finally pulled away, both a little flushed and short of breath but smiling, "That was…nice. Um…night!"

He quickly disappeared into the cabin, ears also tinted pink, and Will actually found himself jumping for joy on the way to his own cabin.


	5. 4/20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because they're baking, get it
> 
> I'm dumb please enjoy

"Need some help there, darlin’?" Will’s slow, Southern drawl right behind him was more than enough for Nico to flush pink. He flushed red when he felt Will’s warm palm press against the small of his back as the taller blond reached up and grabbed the sugar on the top shelf with ease that Nico had lacked. 

With a peck on the check, Will placed the sugar in front of Nico and said, “Need a sous chef?”

"No more shenanigans." Nico said, in place of answer, "These are for Hazel’s birthday so I actually care about how they come out."

"Scout’s honor," Will said with his usual bright grin, holding up three fingers.

"You were never a boy scout." Nico said flatly. He reached for a mixing spoon in the container by the stove, sidestepping Will whose smile hadn’t dampened. 

"Fair enough," Will said, "Pinky promise. I’ll be extra good."

The linked pinkies. Will insisted on kissing on it to seal the deal. Nico complied. Together, they set about measuring and mixing the ingredients into the bowl Will had produced from one of the cabinets. As Nico stirred everything together, Will took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Nico’s middle. 

"Wait a second, hon. You got a little something right…there." Nico felt warm lips brush against his jaw and archery-callused fingers slide beneath the hem of his t-shirt. 

"What about our pinky promise?" Nico reminded, though there was no real venom in his voice. Still, he could feel Will pout into the curve of his neck. "Now, really, I think I’m being good.  _Real_ good.”

"Well, you can be  _real_  good later,” Nico said, stressing his words by slipping into a mock impression of Will’s accent. “Let me put these in the oven.”

Five minutes later, he slid the full cupcake tin into the oven and set the timer for half an hour. “Now,” Nico said, stepping back, “All we do is wait.”

"And I think I have a few good ideas about how we can pass the time." Will said, pulling Nico close to him once more and linking their fingers as they kissed, pressed up against the front of the refrigerator. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a request at: siriusscrewsblokes.tumblr.com


	6. Rocky start to Horror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bonus points to the people that get both pop culture references in this one

Ok, Will thought to himself, he could do this. He’d emptied his bladder right before the movie. He’d put on his coziest sweatshirt and brought his favorite blanket down from their bedroom. Nico was within a safe reaching distance to cuddle if (let’s be real,  _when)_ Will needed him. 

He was proud to say that he lasted an entire twenty minutes into the movie, right up until incredibly stupid white actress #1 did something incredibly stupid that Will could see was already going to get the entire ensemble cast killed. 

Nico was laughing. Nico was  _laughing_  at the movie and Will was hiding behind his blanket and covering his eyes with both his hands and shaking. 

"N-nico?"

Somebody was getting brutally murdered in the movie. 

"Nico?"

Nico was glued to the screen. 

"Nico!"

"Hm, you say something,  _tesoro_?” Nico looked completely calm and Will was honestly jealous. But the fear in his eyes must’ve been blatant enough for Nico to see in the darkened living room because he opened his arms to allow Will to crawl into them. Will nuzzled up against Nico’s stomach, which allowed the younger boy to comb his fingers through his hair. 

"We can change it if you want."

Will nodded into Nico’s stomach. There was a soft laugh from above Will’s head as Nico reached for the remote the stop the movie. “What do you wanna watch instead then?”

"Tangled?" Will said, grinning sheepishly up at Nico. 

Nico laughed a little more and pulled Will up far enough to kiss him on the forehead. “As you wish,  _tesoro_ _._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Send your requests to: siriusscrewsblokes.tumblr.com


	7. Steam

Will’s hands were so  _warm_. Maybe it was a child of Apollo thing but since Nico always felt so cold so it was a nice change from the ordinary. Shirts had been discarded ages ago and Will was running his palms down the sharp lines of Nico’s spine and shoulder blades. Nico, however, was content to tangle his hands in the short hairs at the base of Will’s neck. 

He could feel Will breathing heavier than normal as he tried to catch his breath between kisses. He nipped at Nico’s lips and slipped his tongue into his mouth. 

Gods, this was the best way to spend free periods. 

"Hey, hey, let’s lie down." Will said, reclining back into the pillows on Nico’s bed. The Hades cabin was always the best place to do this. It was private and dark and Nico had a big bed all to himself. 

Now, in this position, Nico was holding himself up by his forearms braced on either side of Will’s head, lip locked with the boy underneath him. 

"Damn, baby," Will’s accent was even heavier when they got…well, hot and heavy. "You’re gorgeous."

"Will.." Nico muttered, hiding his face into Will’s neck. Will insisted in showering him with compliments all the time, and they still never failed to make him blush. 

"Darlin’, hiding won’t make it any less true. Come back here." Will said. He coaxed Nico’s lips back to his. They were really just getting comfortable—Will’s fingers dipping into the waist band of his pants, when the door Nico was sure he had locked burst open.

Travis and Connor Stoll, two boys quickly working their way into Nico’s family, thundered in with supplies for some crazy scheme probably. 

The two stopped short when they saw Will and Nico on the bed, breaking out into toothy grins. 

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." Connor started.

"GET OUT!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave your requests @ siriusscrewsblokes.tumblr.com


	8. What a Joker

The first time Nico had seen Will shirtless had definitely been something to remember. Not just because it was Will and goddamn he was gorgeous and golden and there was this fine sprinkling of chest hair that Nico kind of wanted to run his palms over but...there was something else.

There was a huge scar running from pectoral to hipbone, jagged and ugly and though Nico definitely wanted to continue to where this was going he was curious and he had to ask.

"How.."

"You wanna know how I got these scars?" Will said in his spot on Joker impression. "Or, well," he continued back in his Southern drawl, "this one in particular."

Nico blushed, having been caught staring but nodded anyways. It wasn't like he didn't have any nasty scars either, but not one so big. 

So Will took him into his arms and Nico rested his head on Will's chest, warm and just as golden close up but with a sprinkling of fine freckles. Nico could feel his heartbeat and his mortality running through his veins. 

"It was the war with the Titans." Will started, bringing Nico's fingers to rest against the rope-y scar. "And...I was trying to pull a couple of campers out of the line of fire. But there were these dracanae and their spears and--"

"Shh..it's alright. You're OK." Nico kissed the corner of Will's mouth and let the boy curl around him. 

"You're a hero."

"I'm just a sidekick."

" _You're a hero,"_ Nico said with force, and kissed the part of the scar that fell across his sternum. 


	9. Double date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what dorks

"Is…is that Percy and Jason trying to hide behind their menu’s?"

"Probably." Nico agreed, not looking up from his menu. "I hope they don’t expect us to pay again."

Will’s lips quirked into a half smile. “I feel like I’m on a double date I didn’t sign up for.”

"I feel like this is one of many double dates I didn’t sign up for. Hm. I think I’ll get the tortellini, what do you think?" Nico said, thumbing his menu and looking at the pasta list on the back page. "Piper said it was good here."

"She has to stop sending us to Italian and Tex-Mex restaurants. It’s getting slightly insulting."

"Taco’s not as good as the one’s Mama used to make?" Nico said with mirth. Will laid his hand palm up on the table and Nico took the opportunity to lace their fingers together. He heard excited chatter coming from the general direction of Jason and Percy where they were still hiding behind their menu’s.

"Hell nawh. I’ll have to take you to the ranch sometime and get you some real grub."

"I’ll take you up on that offer. Now how long do you think it’ll take Jason and Perce to realize we’ve ditched them if we leave now?"

"Well, prince of the shadows, lead the way." 


	10. Tie on the Doorknob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so this suddenly became m rated

"Will, Will c’mon, hurry up. You gotta get going soon." Nico huffed, breathless by Will’s kisses and touches. His shirt was hanging on a hook in the supply closet in that they had hidden themselves away in. Will’s pants and underwear were around his knees the last time Nico had seen them, which seemed like a while ago to be honest. 

And Will…Will needed to go to his lesson soon, too soon, and he was still mostly inside Nico. Not that Nico was complaining or anything though. 

"Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful." Will chanted, kissing across Nico’s collarbones as he hiked up Nico a little higher and thrust in time with his mantra. 

"C-christ, Will."

"Baby, you’re gorgeous. Love you…love you sooo much." With that confession pouring from Will’s lips and a particularly well aimed thrust, Nico was coming, Will not far behind.

They panted together as Will slowly pulled out and set Nico down on his wobbly legs. Will took a few more deep breaths and pulled his clothes back out. 

"That was…good." Nico said with a sated smile on his face. " _Ti amo_.”

"Love you too, baby doll." Will said, discretely tossing the condom into the waste bin in the corner of the closet. "Now, I gotta run to class. You alright to get back to your cabin?"

"I’ll be fine," Nico promised, reaching his arms up to signal for Will to kiss him one more time.

"See you in an hour, baby. Take a nap and maybe next round we can take our time." With a cocky grin, he was gone. 


	11. You're a Jerk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ok so like really m rated

"N-nico, what are you doing?" Will whispered quietly to his boyfriend as Chiron kept on reading the camp’s finances report from last month at the meeting. Nico, though, didn’t see a reason to respond, simply quirking his mouth into a little smirk as his right hand ghosted over Will’s thigh and undid the button and fly on his shorts. 

He tried to cough to cover up his squeak of surprised when he felt the coolness of Nico’s hand in his boxers. Really? Here, now?

Will tried to glare effectively in Nico’s direction without giving either of them away and even tried to pinch Nico’s arm but the son of Hades was not so easily deterred. Not that Will didn’t appreciate the promise of a hand job or anything but under the table at a cabin counselor meeting? Well, Nico was more of a sexual deviant than Will would’ve guessed so maybe he shouldn’t have been so surprised. 

Nico started to move his hand, slow strokes that put pressure just where Will liked it, thumbing over the head every once and a while making Will have to bite back a groan in order to keep their activities private. Across the table, Percy gave him a questioning look which Will did his best to answer with a smile, though it probably looked more like he was in pain. 

He certainly wasn’t though, and wouldn’t be anytime soon if Nico kept doing that thing with his wrist. The pads of Nico’s fingers ghosted up the underside of Will’s cock and he had to grip the pen in his hand a little tighter. Out of the corner of his eye, Will saw Nico’s smirk grow a fraction of an inch. 

That fucker.

Nico gave a languid stroke and Will could feel the heat in his belly grow a little more. The son of Hades applied a little more pressure and soon Will was coming, trying to cover it up with another cough.

"Are you alright, Will?" Chiron asked and Will felt the tips of his ears go pink.

"F-fine, sir. Just got something caught in my throat. Please continue." Will said, trying to cover up the shakiness in his voice. Chiron gave him one last odd look before continuing with his report. Meanwhile, Nico was wiping his hand on Will’s boxers and zipping his shorts back up. 

Hopefully, Will conveyed in his look to Nico that the younger boy was so going to pay for that later.


	12. OTP UST

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bonus pipabeth i guess? sort of. brotp. sure.

i.

"Ok, so Nico has sword fighting until 2, and Will comes directly from basketball. So  _your_ job, Austin, is to make sure that Will gets plenty sweaty and takes his shirt off. Do you think you can do that?” Piper looks at the son of Apollo testily. 

Austin nods, “Anything to finally get my big bro laid.”

"Good," Piper says, "because Annabeth and I are kind of running out of plans here."

And basketball goes fine. Will and Austin totally kick the Ares kids’ asses. Will is totally sweaty and shirtless. Piper discretely gives Austin a thumbs up as he leads Will to the spot where the older son of Apollo is supposed to cross paths with Nico di Angelo. 

But Rachel Elizabeth Dare has other plans and whisks Nico away for some Oracle-y thing before he can get a very good look at Will’s sweaty chest. 

Maybe it just wasn’t in the stars that day. 

ii.

Finally, it’s Annabeth that snaps. Piper doesn’t blame her partner in crime. OTP UST can drive anyone to a breaking point.

Annabeth tries to break down Will, because his will (excuse the pun) seems easier to manipulate than Nico’s. She plops down right next to him at dinner one night even though she really shouldn’t be there and asks with an angry look on her face, “If you like Nico, why don’t you just ask him out?”

Will splutters and turns the same shade as his father’s sacred cows. Quickly, he makes up a lame excuse and excuses himself to get another plate of food, leaving Annabeth staring angrily at the spot that Will once occupied. For a son of Apollo, he really isn’t all that poetic with retorts.

And Annabeth may be pretty smart, Piper thinks from her spot at the Aphrodite table, but she doesn’t have a whole lot of tact.

iii.

Piper swallows her pride and asks for Jason’s help. Jason and Nico are bros. They’re cool. They can talk about guys together, right?

And Jason was like, the first person even to know about Nico’s orientation, so he would totally be a confident for the son of Hades. At least, Piper hopes so.

Twenty minutes after she sends her boyfriend off to talk with Nico, he comes scurrying back with his t-shirt ripped up and one shoe missing. As she pulls him into her arms to comfort him he looks straight at her and says, “ _Never again_.”

And they’re back to square one.

+i

The Stolls walk into the mess hall triumphantly the day before the Fourth of July fireworks and say, “Can we have everyone’s attention?”

The hall immediately quiets down and looks to the brothers. 

"We would like to inform you," Travis begins.

"-That Nico and Will-" Connor adds.

"Are finally a thing!" They shout together, "LONG LIVE SOLANGELO!"

As the hall erupts into loud cheers and wolf whistles, Piper and Annabeth pull the Stolls over to the side. 

"How’d you do it?" Annabeth asks, slightly amazed and slightly insulted sounding all at the same time. Piper is also sort of miffed underneath her elation. Romance is her department, dammit!

"Easy." Travis says. He holds up a key. "We locked them in a closet together with a couple of condoms and a bottle of lube." Connor finishes.

"And they seemed pretty happy with the arrangement." They say in unison. 

Piper hits her forehead with the palm of her hand and asks them if they at least remembered to set up some cameras.

They did. Thank Aphrodite. 


	13. get me through the night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wahhh sap

"Do you want to talk about it?" Will’s voice is thick with sleep (which only makes his Southern accent more noticeable) as he appears from their bedroom in just some pajama pants. Nico tries to wrap himself up in the comfort those words give him as he warms his hands on the mug of tea in front of him. 

"Not really," Nico sighs. He gives Will an earnest look and the older boy comes over to where he’s sitting on the couch. Will grabs the throw blanket from the chair opposite them and drapes it over the both of them as he sits down next to his boyfriend. 

"Tartarus?"

"Isn’t it always?" Nico says. He rests his mug on the coffee table in front of him and rests his head on Will’s shoulder. His boyfriend quickly takes him into his arms. The beat of Will’s heart is calming and it gives him something to focus on. Hands of a Healer rub away the anxiety tucked in Nico’s muscles and joints and Nico finally feels like he can relax a little. 

"I’m so sorry, baby." Will says. He presses some kisses into Nico’s hair and Nico sighs against his neck. "Not your fault,  _tesoro_.”

"I know," Will says, "But I’d like to be able to help you."

"This is more than enough." Nico says. He finds on of Will’s hands under the blanket and holds it tight. Like this, he’s finally able to doze comfortably until morning.


	14. Darling Dear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> can you say "accent kink"?

"I sound like Forrest Gump." Will says whenever Nico even  _mentions_ liking his Southern twang.

"Is that a problem?" Nico says as they lie in bed during this particular instance of Will complaining about the way he talks. They’re cuddling in afterglow and Will’s voice always tends to take on a thicker accent, dropping more g’s off of words than usual, when he’s tired and his voice is a little hoarse. 

"Dunno," Will says, propping himself up on one elbow to look at Nico, "Makes me sound sorta’ dumb."

"Because everyone assumes you’re a hick?"

"I don’t even  _like_  guns!” Will says in agreement, falling back down onto the mattress. Nico rolls himself on top of Will, nestled between the blond’s legs and runs his fingers over Will’s neck so he can feel his vocal chords vibrate.

It’s not that Will can’t do a very flat American accent. If he tries he can even sound like he’s never left SoCal in his life. That’s nice and all, Nico knows of and appreciates Will’s talent, but the son of Hades is a total sucker for Will’s normal Southern drawl. 

"You like my accent," Nico reasons. He still sounds sort of Italian, putting "a" sounds on the end of words where they shouldn’t be.

"Well duh," Will says, pushing a piece of Nico’s hair away from the boy’s face, "Your accent makes you sound all cultured."

Nico tucks his chin into his boyfriend’s neck, “Goddammit, Will. You know I’m a sucker for  _darlin’_ , and  _baby doll_ , and  _honey_. And I like it how your accent gets thicker when you’re tired or winded or talking really fast, ok? So…so just shut up and keep talking the way you do.”

"That’s an oxymoron."

"You’re a moron." 

"Honey, that ain’t fair!"

"Dammit Will, just do me again."


	15. Early Bird

The sun coming through their bedroom window was enough to wake Will up. He had always been a pretty light sleeper and a very early riser. It was a general child of Apollo thing, to be up with the sun and Will didn’t mind seeing the sunrise every morning. He was used to it when living on the ranch with his mom. 

Nico, however, was not a morning person. In many instances, he didn’t rise until noon, then demanding coffee until he was fully functional. 

Will tried his very best to not wake Nico up. It sometimes worked better than other times. 

"Wha’ time isit?" Nico slurred sleepily, messy black hair flopping over his face. Will momentarily froze as he tried to get out from under their comforter. Nico wasn’t often jostled enough to wake up but sometimes he surprised Will.

"Like 6:15." Will said, sitting back down on the bed and brushing some hair out of Nico’s eyes. Under his ministrations, Nico blinked sleepily up at his boyfriend, dark lashes contrasting against his pale complexion in the light of the rising sun. 

"Ugh, come back to bed." Nico said, "You woke me up so now you owe me cuddles."

"Didn’t know that was in the relationship contract." Will said, sliding under the covers again, accepting his fate of being held hostage by a sleepy Italian for a couple more hours. Nico rolled closer to him, resting his head on the juncture of Will’s chest and shoulder.

"Fine print." Nico muttered, throwing an arm over Will’s side as the blond turned to face him instead. Will could feel the warm sunlight on his back and the heat of Nico in his arms pressing up nicely in all the right places and suddenly a few more hours of shuteye didn’t sound so bad. 

"You’re a bad influence on me, di Angelo."

"Shut up. You like it."

 


	16. Well look-y here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> written by my co-blogger on tumblr, Rach. She'll be showing up more here.

  
“Will,” Nico gasped before he collapsed on top of the offending blond boy.

"That was…"

"Wow," Will finished for him. Nico snuggled up against his side and inhaled deeply, still out of breath from their previous activities. He soon found himself drifting off tucked against Will’s side.

"Nico, not that I want you to leave, but you should go soon," Will said softly. The camp didn’t know about their relationship, mainly because they didn’t want to be the main source of gossip for the summer.

"Five more minutes," Nico muttered into Will’s side. The boy gave Nico a stern look, but he knew that he had won. Before they realized it they were drifting off again.

* * *

"What do we have here," was what Will woke up to. One of his siblings smirked down at him in a very devious manor. At first he was confused, until Nico shifted in his sleep.

"Dammit," Will muttered as he scrambled to get a blanket to wrap up in. Unfortunately, that was the moment Nico decided to wake up, which was a rather harrowing event. Nico was a lot of things, but a morning person was not one of them.

"Fuck," was the first thing that left Nico’s mouth when he opened his eyes. Will’s most irritatingly loud mouthed brother stared down at him on the verge of dissolving into laughter.

"So much for five more minutes," he muttered as he pulled on his boxers and joined Will next to the bed.

"This looks really bad…" Will started, but his brother just snorted before laughing at the two of them.

"Why are you laughing?" Nico glowered, which shut the boy up quickly.

"It’s just- we all know you’re together," the boy said before laughing again. The rest of Apollo’s children, whom Nico had ignored until this time, nodded in agreement.

"We’re happy for you," a girl assured him.

"Just more clothes maybe," Someone said.

"No clothes is cool with me," another brother who Nico thought was named Ben said as his eyes raked down Nico’s severely underdressed form.

Will jumped in front of him like a shield and growled at the brother. His siblings just laughed some more.


	17. Baby you're an animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is not nearly as suggestive as the title perceives it to be
> 
> by Rach

"This is a stupid idea, animals hate me," Nico said again.

"Nico, I love you and everything, but if you say that one more time I’ll smack you," Will threatened as they walked into the shelter. He was dead set on getting them a pet, but Nico thought otherwise.

Animals in the cages hissed and slid as far as they could get from Nico. Apparently his aura of death was extra smelly today.

"See," Nico said as he waved to the animals that were clearly horrified.

"Naw, that’s just cause you need a shower, darlin'," Will joked as they continued to walk down the hall.

"Hey," Nico said before giving Will a well deserved smack in the head. Will rubbed the spot, but Nico knew he hadn’t hit him well enough to actually hurt the boy.

"What about that one," Will asked. The offending cat was pitch black and seemed to peer at them in interest. His eyes seemed to glare at Nico as if it was issuing a challenge- it dared him to pick it up.

"I don’t know…" Nico said, untrusting of the cat.

"Oh come on," Will laughed,"he’s dark and twisty like your soul."

"Watch it, Solace," Nico glared. Will ignored him and opened up the cage.

"STOP," an alarmed worker screamed before he could finish undoing the latch," that cat won’t let anyone touch it," she warned, but it was too late. The furry cat from hell flew out of the cage and latched onto Nico.

"Get it off me," Nico squeaked. The cat purred appreciatively in his arms.

"And you said animals don’t like you."


	18. Mother knows best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> find the pop culture reference that doesnt have to do with country music and you win nothing but bragging rights

Now that Nico had been Will on his home soil, wearing plaid and cowboy boots and a shiny belt buckle on an otherwise beat up belt, he wasn’t surprised to find out Will owned a truck.

He drove them to the main building on the ranch, one arm hanging out of the window lazily. 

"So," Will said, turning down the Rascal Flats coming from the radio, "First thing to know is that even though this is a ranch, it’s really more of a tourist trap. Sure, we have horses and cows and a couple o’ pigs, but we make our money running a B&B. People come here to say they’ve been to a ranch but don’t have to get their hands dirty."

"The land’s really pretty." Nico offered.

"It’s something," Will said, sounding a little maudlin.

* * *

Daily buisness was in full swing when Nico and Will pulled up to the building, a huge slatted thing with dark word and an old Southern charm that Will carried with him. There were a bunch of rocking chairs on the wraparound porch, some full of patrons playing checkers. You could tell they were tourists because none of them were quite as deeply tanned as Will, or wore their plaid as comfortably.

Will was the gentleman and opened the door for Nico, who managed to control his blush. Inside there was the hustle and bustle of lunch hour because apparently the Rising Sun was also a restaurant.

"Ma!" Will shouted in the general direction of the counter, where a pretty blonde woman was helping an older couple make a transaction. She was wearing a blue plaid shirt and a tank top and a worn pair of jeans. If she hadn’t had the hard working wear to her face and hands, she easily could’ve been a runway model. Definitely the type of woman to attract a god like Apollo.

When she spotted Will, her grin brightened like Will’s did when he was happy. After the older couple left she raced around the counter and swept Will into her arms. 

Ms. Solace wasn’t the tallest of women, but you could see the strength in her arms and in her stature. “Oh, god, baby, you’re back.”

They pulled away and she cupped her son’s face in her hands before turning to look at Nico.

"And this must be the city slicker you picked out."

"Ma! Be nice to Nico."

"Of course, just making sure he’s good enough for my son."

Nico stuck his hand out to shake and introduce himself but Ms. Solace only said, “Jesus, boy, c’mere.” And suddenly Nico found himself pulled into the same tight hug Will had been pulled into a few moments earlier.


	19. Reference to that 3OH!3 song part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> christ y'all like first kisses

When Nico had first found the courage to slip his hand into Will’s in public, it’d been a big step for him. Nico knew that Will knew it too, and Nico also knew that he was lucky to have such an understanding boyfriend.

Nico felt even more out of place and clueless than usual when it came to PDA. He had told Will quietly one night that he’d never been kissed (it was hard to when everyone scurried away at the mere mention of your name) he hadn’t exactly expected Will to seek out remedying that.

"Hey there, sunshine." Will said as he sat down with Nico in the Hades cabin shortly after The Confession. Nico could tell the son of Apollo was up to something but he wasn’t quite sure what.

"Don’t call me that." Nico grunted, but it was really more of an automatic reaction. 

Will paid the comment no mind and rested an arm behind Nico’s head on the sofa. Some awful soap opera that Nico had gotten addicted too was playing and even though he was watching his stories, Nico knew that Will was looking at him with great interest.

"Spit it out." Nico said, turning his attention away from his show.

"Can I kiss you now?" Will asked, looking at him earnestly with his pale baby blues.

"I-I guess?" Nico squeaked and was taken by surprise when Will’s warm palm caressed his cheek delicately.

Will’s lips were soft like rose petals and just as warm as the rest of him. Nico knew that his kissing skills were probably lacking but Will was a good leader and a good teacher. Nico linked his arms around Will’s neck and leaned into the older boy. 

When they finally pulled away from one another, red faced and smiles bright, Will grinned and said, “Meet your expectations?”

Nico nodded, not able to meet Will’s eyes quite yet. “Y-yeah. Can…can we do it again?”

"I can’t say no to you, sweetheart."


	20. Allergies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you blame anyone for this blame tumblr
> 
> also, find the subtle gay joke

So he kept finding grass on the front stoop of his cabin? Was someone trying to play a nasty joke on him? Probably. But grass seemed an odd thing to keep leaving a person. Maybe they thought he had allergies or something? He didn’t, so that was kind of dumb.

He was pretty sure it was Will who was leaving the clippings, too, because whenever they hung out, Nico would always find bits of grass in his pockets and in his hair. It was getting to a point where he was about to confront the son of Apollo to see if he had some sort of grass fetish and what it had to do with him.

And the Demeter kids seemed to find the whole thing hilarious for some stupid reason Nico couldn’t figure out. They laughed especially hard when Nico lit the piled up clippings aflame just to get rid of the buildup in front of his cabin.  **  
**

Finally, it was Annabeth who decided to take pity on him as Nico was about as his wits end in dealing with grass. She pulled him aside one day after dinner, brushed some clippings that Will had thrown in his general direction off of his shoulder and said, not unkindly, “So..Nico. Did you know that grass is sometimes seen as a symbol of homosexual love?”

That was all it took before everything fell into place inside Nico’s mind. 

The next morning Will woke up to find a small pile of slightly dead-looking grass clippings at the foot of his bunk and a note that said:

_You’re so dumb. A simple, “Do you want to go to a movie?” would’ve been fine._


	21. Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the feels and a lego movie reference

Will was worried about Nico. Well, Will was always worried about Nico; worried that he was eating enough, sleeping enough, getting enough vitamins into his diet, that sort of thing, but right now he was terrified.

Lately, Nico had been holing himself up more and more in his cabin, trudging to dinner, not making any conversation, barely eating, and then disappearing again. He looked tired, too, like the old days before Will had gotten hold of the boy and made him start taking better care of him.

And so this terrified, pent up worry led Will to his place now, standing outside the Hades cabin just after dinner which Nico had failed to show up to. Hesitantly, Will knocked on the lacquered door. He heard a faint, "One second." which immediately gave Will some kind of hope.

Nico opened the door, wearing a thin black t-shirt and some pajama pants with little skulls all over them (where did this kid even find this stuff, Holy Hera) and looking, well, dead.

His eyes were hollow and his hair was limp. He looked sick. Will pushed down the immediate urge to bring the younger teen into his arms. Instead, he said, "Can I come in?"

Nico blinked and muttered a quiet, "Yeah, sure," before moving out of the way to let Will in. The Hades cabin hadn't changed much since Will had last been inside. Most of the decor was black or very, very dark gray. He toed off his shoes at the door and followed Nico into the main lving space of the cabin. He could see Nico had made a blanket nest for himself on the sofa that he ended up disrupting enough to let Will sit down. 

He let Nico settle himself into the remaining part of his nest before asking, "Are you OK?" 

Nico was looking at his hands, before shaking his head and saying in the same small voice from before, "I don't know what's wrong. I feel like I'm finally cracking."

Will leaned towards him, reaching one hand out for Nico to either take or leave, but very happy when he accepted. "Let me help you, alright? I'm a Healer, I can help."

"I know," Nico said. He looked up at Will, eyes filling with tears and Will could tell that Nico was seriously thinking he was going insane. He looked as terrified as Will was for him.

"How do you feel? What are you symptoms?"

"I can't eat, I can't sleep. I feel shaky and sick and my head hurts. It's hard to get out of bed or do  _anything_  and-and-a-" Nico started to hyperventilate, causing Will to take action and pull the boy close to his chest, rubbing his back and whispering soothing things to him. 

"Shh, it's okay Nico, I have you. Deep breaths, deep breaths. Shh, I'm right here and I'm not going to leave." Will soothed and Nico seemed to have a better handle on his breathing.

"S-sorry. I-I'm fine now, thanks." Nico said, though he didn't extract himself from Will's arms. If anything, he was now using Will as a blanket nest substitute.

"Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you have depression."

That got Nico's attention. "I'm not crazy!" Nico said, sitting up quickly, "At least...I think so."

"Depression doesn't mean you're crazy, sunshine. Lots of people have it and it's fine to need help. You can even take medicine to help; there's nothing wrong with needing help."

"I know  _that_." Nico grumbled. "I don't want happy drugs though."

"'Course not," Will said, "But I want to make sure you're okay."

"Yeah, yeah okay. I'd--I'd like it if you just stay right now. That'd be nice...though it'd be nicer if I could actually fucking sleep some." Nico sighed, sounding defeated.

So they remade the blanket nest, now big enough for the both of them. Nico felt strangely cool in Will's arms but it was comforting to have the boy's head resting on his chest. Nico even seemed content to have Will's hand rub soothing circles on his lower back underneath his t-shirt.

After about twenty minutes of cuddly with the TV quietly showing the home shopping network because it was good background noise, a thought came to Will's mind.

"I could sing to you, if you'd like. It might make you relax a little?"

Nico nodded, accepting the offer. Will cleared his throat and helped Nico settle a bit before starting.

" _You are my sunshine,_

_My only sunshine,_

_You make me happy when skies are gray,_

_You'll never know dear,_

_How much I love you,_

_Please don't take my sunshine away."_

Will wasn't entirely sure what had possessed him to pick  _that_  song to sing, but it was always a song that never failed to calm him down when his mother sang it to him when he was little. It seemed to be working for Nico too, which was a good sign. His breathing already sounded steadier and a lot of the tension had gone from his small frame. Even so, Will felt the need to finish up the verse.

" _The other night, dear, as I was sleeping,_

_I dreamt I held you in my arms,_

_When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken,_

_So I hung my head a cried."_

Nico seemed completely asleep by that point, which Will smiled a little at. 

"You're gonna be just fine, sunshine. I'll make sure of it. You're not going anywhere. Doctor's orders."

He kissed the crown of Nico's head and let the teen sleep.


	22. Sick days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im actually quite proud of this one

"I’m not sick." Nico said, sounding very sick.

"So you normally sound like you snorted an entire bag of cotton balls?" Will asked, already going to fill up the kettle and make some tea for his sick boyfriend.

"Shut up." Nico said, though it sounded more like, "Shud ip," which made Will smirk a little.

"My point exactly. Go back to bed and I’ll bring you some tea."

"Ugh, but my head hurts when I lie down."

"Prop yourself up then. Bed, now. I mean it. Doctor’s orders."

"And if I don’t go to bed?" Nico said, sounding annoyed. Will turned around to face him, standing with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and shivering a little. He looked really, positively ill.

"I’ll take your temperature the  _other_ way. I mean it Nico, go lie down before you pass out or something.”

"Or something." Nico muttered, but turned around and left to presumably go back to bed. Will smiled a little, triumphantly, and returned to making Nico some breakfast.


	23. Feels like the first time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's a first time for everything. m rated everything anyways

If they had done it any earlier, Will would’ve felt like a cradle robber. Two years didn’t seem like a whole lot in real life, especially because Nico had memories from the  _1940s_  but yeah, Will was two years physically Nico’s senior and when they had first gotten together Nico was only 14. 

But that had been two years ago, and in those two years Will couldn’t have been happier. Sure they had their rough spots but every couple did, and Nico, once he’d gotten out of his shell, was a very warm and full of love to give. 

It was time though, Will figured, to take  _that_  step in their relationship. Nico seemed to think so too, because they’d worked their way up. Hand jobs, blow jobs. Touching in general. Nico always seemed to be starved for touch. 

So when Will set the lube and condoms easily within reach on the bedside table and pulled his shirt off to start, he wasn’t surprised in the least when Nico had settled himself comfortably on his pelvis and gave a content little sigh, reaching out to touch. Nico seemed to drink the sight of him in, wrapping his cool hands around the son of Apollo’s shoulders and moving them down over his pecs and brushing over his nipples, making him shiver. 

When Nico’s hands finally skirted over his abs and rested on Will’s belt buckle he looked up at the blond and said, “I’ve been waiting for a while to do this.”

"Then come down here and start showing it." Will said, propping his weight up on one elbow and threading this other one through Nico’s hair. Puberty had been good to Nico, helped him fill out a little bit so he didn’t look so skeletal, and over the last two years some of Nico’s olive coloring had come back. It also probably helped that he wasn’t getting attacked by werewolves and rogue Romans every few days but Will digressed.

In short though, Nico had grown into his quiet sort of beauty.

Will pressed his lips to the younger boy’s, Nico immediately opening up to him and letting Will’s tongue map out his mouth. He tasted sweet like the ice cream he’d had for dessert that night. 

Nico fell forward a bit, until he was chest to chest with Will, momentarily interrupting their kiss. “Hey there.” Will chuckled.

"Hi." Nico said.

"You’re still dressed."

"So are you." Nico countered.

"Whoops. Let’s fix that, shall we?"

Once Will had slipped Nico’s t-shirt over his head and grabbed the boy by the hips to pull him closer, pants were quick to leave the both of them. Recently, Will’s favorite activity was to trace Nico’s scars with his finger tips, leaving Nico shivering and needy when the scars stretched over more sensitive areas. 

Now wasn’t for that, though. Bigger things were on the agenda. Speaking of…

"Someone’s excited." Will teased, causing Nico to blush harder. 

"Shut up, like you’re not."

"Never said I wasn’t." Will said. He helped Nico shimmy out of his boxers and flipped their positions so it was Nico lying flat on the bed. Nico gave a little moan when Will pressed kisses down the dark line of hair on Nico’s stomach before licking the underside of his cock. Nico’s inner thighs twitched a little and a soft, "Please, Will," came from Nico above Will’s head.

"Just a second, sunshine." Will said, biting the sensitive skin of Nico’s inner thighs enough to leave a red mark. He then reached over to the side table, grabbing the lube and setting it next to Nico on the bed. 

"You ready, baby?" Will said, nuzzling Nico’s neck and hearing his breath hitch as Will gave his boyfriend’s cock a few strokes. 

"Really ready. Get on with it, Solace."

"Bossy." Will chided before getting out his own boxers and lifting one of Nico’s legs over his shoulder. He stuffed one of the bed’s throw pillows under Nico’s hips and kissed him once more before returning to his task. He popped the cap to the lube open and spread some over his fingers, trying to warm it up. Nico was prone to complaining about such things. 

The first finger slipped in without much resistance. They’d been preparing, after all. Even so, Will marveled about how tight and warm Nico was, but then he was a virgin and Will was…not.

The second finger met a bit more resistance and a groan from Nico. To quiet the teen and try to distract him, Will shifted closer to kiss him hungrily. It seemed to work, and all pain was forgotten when Will found Nico’s prostate. Nico moaned shamelessly into Will’s mouth and bucked his hips a little. Will took it as a good sign to add the third finger. 

A few more minutes of stretching and Nico was getting impatient. “Will, just…I’m ready, just..put it in, please.”

Will detached his mouth from sucking a bruise onto Nico’s delicate collar bones and said, “Of course, baby.”

He withdrew his fingers and grabbed a condom, tearing off the foil wrapping and rolling it on. He lubed himself up and positioned himself against Nico’s ass.

"I love you," He said breathlessly, looking down at his boyfriend, flushed and sprawled on the bed.

"Love you too," Nico said, sounding pleased, "Now get on with it."

It was slow going, pushing inside. Nico was tight and velvety around him and Will tried his best to go slow and not hurt him. Even so, Nico’s face was scrunched up in displeasure. Well that wouldn’t do.

Fully seated now, Will stopped and stroked Nico’s cock in strong, drawn out strokes that Will knew could make Nico come undone. “You tell me when.”

Nico nodded, reaching up to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and bringing him close, contorting himself in a way that made Will’s cock throb. 

“ _Move_.”

And Will did. He rocked into Nico first in short thrusts, trying to angle himself to brush against Nico’s prostate. Gods, he was in Elysium, he had to be. Nico looked positively gorgeous under him, his black hair looking like an inky halo around his head. _  
_

Will deepened him thrusts and when Nico suddenly arched, Will knew he’d hit his mark. He could feel pressure building up in his gut and Nico looked pretty close too. He leaned down and sucked right over when Nico’s bony hip protruded, a particular sensitive area, and Nico positively sobbed.

"Will," Nico cried, "Will please, please, I-I’m sooo close pleasepleaseplease."

"Shh, baby, come for me," Will said, accenting each word with a thrust against Nico’s prostate, "Come for me."

"Hnn, Will!"

Will fucked Nico through his orgasm, coming when Nico’s walls tightened around him. He choked on Nico’s name and pressed his face against Nico’s sweaty shoulder to collect himself.

There were a quiet few minutes of afterglow between them before Will shifted and pulled out. He tied off the condom, threw it in the general direction of the bin and grabbed some tissues to clean them up from the side table. 

Nico curled into Will as Will cleaned him up. There was a soft sigh when Will had finished.

"Good?" Will asked.

"The best. But now ‘m sleepy."

"Rest then."

"Round two after?" Nico asked, tired and cool against Will’s chest.

"If you’re up for it." Will said, and smiled to himself as Nico kissed his jaw and started snoring into his neck.


	24. Untimely Interruptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> glitter!

"Really, Will, here?" Nico grumbled as he was pushed against the dark side of the Hades cabin. There were pretty much out of public eye, but that didn’t mean that he enjoyed being romantically mauled by his boyfriend in a semi public place.

"C’mon, where’s your adventurous side?"

Will gave him a teasing peck on the lips before unbuckling Nico’s belt and shoving the teen’s pants to his knees. 

Well if Will was going to be so nice, who was Nico to stop him?

Will, still persistent on giving Nico a blow job apparently, dropped to his knees, scooted forward a bit and—

_WHAM!_

Will was knocked sideways by a blast of pink and gold glitter, covering Nico and Will and throwing Will far enough to sit up dazed and puzzled at his sudden relocation. 

Nico pulled his pants up quickly and shared a look with Will.  _Stolls._

Well, it looked like fun times were going to put on hold until revenge was taken. Almost as good as a blow.

Almost.


	25. Capture the Flag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> by Rach

It will be fun.

That was the promise given to Nico to convince him to play capture the flag that night. All of the Seven (minus Leo, who was gods know where with Calypso) were currently at the camp and everyone was excited to play.

When Nico got there a helmet with a blue plume radiating out of the top was tossed to him as he fastened on his armor. His eyes scanned the crowd for his boyfriend of 5 months, Will Solace. He finally spotted him with his siblings, who were playing for the red team.

"Nico," Jason called from in front of him. He pushed his way through the crowd following the sound of his friends voice. That’s right. Friend. Nico DiAngelo had changed greatly since the final battle.

He found Jason with his arm slung around Percy’s neck. Annabeth stood next to him wearing a determined look that made Nico thankful they were on the same team.

The teams ending up working out so that Nico, Jason, Annabeth, and Hazel were on one team. The other team included Frank, Percy, Piper, and Will.

* * *

Nico and Jason stumbled through the woods searching for the flag. Deep in enemy territory they found themselves ‘shit outa luck,’ as Will would say. It was clear from the beginning that between Frank and the Apollo kids, Jason would have to travel by foot or risk being shot out of the sky.

"Listen," Nico said. Jason stopped moving for only a moment before he jumped in front of Nico and waved his arm to deflect and arrow.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The statement was accompanied by Will and Percy emerging from the trees. Percy pointed his sword to Jason, who was disarmed sometime in the previous hour.

Nico found himself in a rather different situation. Will had his bow drawn and aimed right at his leg. Even with the blunt tip, they were so close he would probably shatter Nico’s kneecap.

Nico looked to Jason, who nodded before he launched himself at Will. Nico pushed him against and tree and attacked his mouth fiercely; Will completely forgot he should be attacking. He was completely at the mercy of Nico’s lips.

Percy dropped his weapon as he gaped at the pair making out before him. Since he had been gone all that time, he had no idea about their relationship.

Somewhere in the distanced the signal that ended the game sounded. Nico pulled back and smirked at the shocked Will.

"What just happened?" Percy asked. Jason fell in behind him and busted out laughing.

"You just broke rule number one of fighting: never get distracted."

"You just got your ass’s kicked Jackson," Jason wheezed.  
  
“You’re right Will. This was fun,” Nico smiled.


	26. Never Let Percy do Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> adulthood is hard

"And this is why you shouldn’t listen to Percy," Will muttered as he dabbed a little rubbing alcohol on Nico’s cheeks, causing him to hiss in pain. Nico quirmed uncomfortably as Will stood between his legs as he sat on the counter, grumbling about stupid sons of Poseidon.

"I could’ve helped." Will said, not unkindly. Once the bleeding had stopped Will kissed over the areas, along Nico’s jaw and cheek bones, causing the skin to tingle and heal over. Nico sighed a little and buried his head into Will’s chest.

"I just wanted to do something on my own for once." Nico said, "But then Percy offered to help and he ended up fucking everything up and can’t I just grow a beard and be done with it?"

Will wrapped the boy up a hug and kissed his forehead, “I’ll teach you next time, then. And the next time Percy comes close to your face with sharp objects just come find me, ok?”

"Ok." Nico nodded. There was a pause as Nico rubbed his face with his hands. "My cheeks are really smooth though."

"And bleeding."

"Well, you win some, you lose some."


	27. Green Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, Jason is mentioned

"Well you look nice, hon." Will said, smiling as his boyfriend came out of their bedroom, all dolled up for the evening. 

"Thank you," Nico smiled a little, accepting Will’s hand and twirling for him. His jeans hugged his legs nicely and his t-shirt showed his defined back muscles sword fighting for years had given him. A glint of silver adorning his ears showed in the light of the kitchen. 

"Where are you goin’ then?" Will asked, pulling Nico close to his chest. 

"Jason and I were gonna get some dinner and catch up. ‘S been a while." Nico said easily, tucking his head into Will’s neck. Will knew it was dumb to feel that seed of jealously begin to grow and tighten in his rib cage at the mention of the other blond demigod. It wasn’t like Nico wasn’t allowed to have friends. If anything, Nico should have  _more_ friends. But Jason was…seemingly perfect. And Nico and Jason got along  _really_ well.

"Oh." Will said before he could stop himself.

"Oh?" Nico said, pulling away slightly. "Is there something wrong? D’you not like Jason or something?"

"It’s fine. it’s just…something stupid." Will said, refusing to meet Nico’s eyes. Suddenly, a dawning look crossed Nico’s face. 

"You’re  _jealous_.” Nico said, and then a little kinder, continued, “That’s alright. But Jason’s just my friend. Promise. I love you, but he’s like a brother to me.”

"I know. It’s stupid."

"Not stupid, Solace. If you’re feeling under appreciated you’re supposed to tell me.We’re dating, and that’s what you do in a relationship." Nico said wisely. Will sighed.

“ _I’m_ supposed to be the well adjusted one.” 

Nico grinned a little and hit him on the arm. “Don’t worry, you still are.”


	28. Cuffed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico is evil

Will tugged weakly on the bronze handcuffs attaching him to Nico’s bed, thinking up curses in his head that would make the Stolls speaking in limericks until they died. He wished he could shadow travel out of these cuffs like Nico could. 

Honestly, he was not appreciating being stuck on the floor and handcuffed to the bed, being left to fend for himself.

Luckily, he didn’t have to wait much longer because suddenly Nico was walking in and looking comically surprised about Will’s state of being. 

"Hi," Will said meekly.

"Hi to you, too. What’s this all about?" Nico asked, squatting down in order to see Will more clearly. 

"Stolls."

"Oh."

"The key is on the bedside table," Will said, pointing in direction of the table with his free hand. "Something about being a present for you? When they tied me up, that is."

"I’m certainly grateful," Nico said, not going for the key but rather settling himself on Will’s legs, kissing his boyfriend breathless enough for him to momentarily forget about his predicament until he tried to move his hand into Nico’s hair.

"Kinda like having you at my mercy."

"Yeah?" Will said, groaning as Nico shifted onto his crotch. The pressure was making his pants start to tighten and any attempt to remedy his problem was futile because Will was not left handed.

"Mhmm." Nico said, kissing and biting a mark into Will’s neck before continuing, "But this’ll have to wait, I have a lesson to go to."

"What?" Will said, not proud of the way his voice cracked as he spoke.

"Yeah, sword practice. I’m helping at Percy cause he’s thinks I’m good with children, gods know why. I’ll see ya ‘round, Solace."

"You-you can’t just leave me here!" 

"Watch me. Now be good, and you’ll get your treat later." Nico grinned brightly and disappeared into the shadows of his bedroom. 

Will groaned, let his head fall back onto the mattress and continued to think of curses to put on the Stoll brothers.


	29. That's amore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bad italian galore whoohoo
> 
> (to that wonderful person who is italian, i know there's at least one of you, please correct me. google translate is only so good)

Nico was exhausted from their last round. Thoroughly and utterly tired out, the kind of tired that went bone deep and you felt content to drop down and take a nap wherever you happened to be at the time.

Currently, Nico was sprawled on top of Will, who looked about as tired as Nico felt. Will’s chest was damp with sweat and sticking to Nico’s face as he laid on him but Nico was past the point of caring. Will’s hard earned muscles from archery and field work made excellent pillows for Nico’s fatigued body. The gentle rise and fall of Will’s chest was lulling Nico to sleep; a sleep he would gladly welcome.

Will was tracing patterns with his steady surgeon’s hands onto Nico’s side and back, leaving little trails of heat in their wake. It was comforting; Nico felt safe.

“ _Ti amo, amore._ " Nico muttered into Will’s skin, " _sei cosi buono con me.”_

 _“_ Hm? What’d you say, hon?” Will asked, his voice a little hoarse.

“ _Sei…cosi buono con me…_ " Nico repeated.

"Oh…" Will said, shifting so Nico was curled up more next to him than on top of him, "Ah…"

"Sorry," Nico said after the sudden position shift, "Was I…? I was saying ‘You’re so good to me’, did it come out in Italian? It’s been happening more and more when I get super tired."

"Oh well, I, ah, I don’t mind none, darlin’." Will said, his accent coming through thicker as a flush started to spread down from his face and neck, down to his chest. Nico’s first thought was that Will was coming down with something, but the sudden tent in the sheet around Will’s hips proved otherwise.

"Apparently," Nico said with a tired little chuckle, "You don’t mind at  _all_ … _tesoro.”_

"Gods, Nico, stop. It’s embarrassing." Will said, covering his face with his hands. Nico, however, was having none of it, taking Will’s hands in his own (one of Will’s favorite romantic gestures) and giving them a light squeeze.

"You’re dumb. I like your accent and you like mine and if you want me to learn some Italian dirty talk I will…though not right now cause I’m tired as hell and I want to sleep."

"I guess I should go take care of this then, huh?" Will said, gesturing to the sheets with a sigh. Nico laughed again, "Yeah, probably."

He pecked Will on the forehead and let the blond roll out of bed, who was grumbling to himself about Italian boyfriends and too much wine before dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to Google Translate:
> 
> Ti amo, amore - I love you, dear
> 
> sei cosi buono con me - You’re so good to me
> 
> tesoro - darling


	30. North star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> saaaaaaaap

"You can see the whole gods-be-damned sky out here." Nico said in awe, head pillowed by Will’s chest. He pointed out a constellation that Will had already found, but even so it was nice to see Nico happy and comfortable around him.

This was really going well for Will. An excellent first date. And gods, it had to be if he was going to be able to keep Nico’s interest. What did you show the boy who could be half-way ‘round the world in seconds?

The grassy hilltop by Will’s childhood home was making for the perfect date spot. It was far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the ranch Will had grown up on, with his mother running the B&B and he and his step-dad taking care of the animals along with some hired help, to be secluded and romantic even. This place meant the world to Will and it was great to be able to share it with the boy he was wanting to spend more and more time with.

Will cracked his knuckles and settled his hands behind his head. It was thankfully a clear night and Nico seemed to be enjoying the stargazing. He’d already found Orion and the Ursus Major and Minor. He was currently looking for the Huntress, which seemed to be the hardest to find.

Until Nico starting shivering as he tried to find constellations, Will hadn’t noticed the temperature starting to drop. As a son of Apollo, he was always pretty warm, even when the sun wasn’t up. 

"Hey, you’re cold, c’mere."

"It’s fine," Nico said, "I’m okay."

"You’re shivering and I don’t wan’t you gettin’ a cold.  _C’mere_.” Will said, sitting up and holding out his arms.

Reluctantly, Nico crawled over so he had his back to Will’s chest, his head tucked under the blond’s chin because of their height difference. Will reached over into the picnic basket to grab the blanket he’d packed and soon enough they were warm and still able to see the stars. 

As Will’s arms settles around his middle, Nico seemed to relax fully into Will’s embrace.

"You are really warm."

"Son of a sun god, sweetheart."

"Might have to keep you around then." Nico said, looking up at Will with those irresistible, big, brown eyes. They were sort of quiet and sad looking. Will’s Ma would call them the "kicked puppy eyes" that when girls would make, men would bend to their every whim. Suddenly, Will knew what she was talking about.

"I sure hope you do, darlin’. Now isn’t that the Huntress right there?" 


	31. Immunity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will sticks something in Nico but it's not what you think

"Sit down and don’t move." Will said, pushing Nico onto the hospital bed. Nico landed with a thump and bounced a bit as he watched Will scurry around the infirmary, clearly on a mission.

"What’s going on? What’s wrong?"

"You’re not vaccinated." Will said like he’d committed a felony. Nico watched as Will took vials of clear liquid and some syringes out of a cabinet. 

"Um…ok?" Nico said, not understanding what Will was freaking out over.

"You could be carrying polio, chicken pox, meningitis, the  _mumps_? So help me if you get some completely vaccinate-able disease on my watch.”

"You’re not sticking anything in me." Nico said.

"That’s not what you were saying last night." Will said, pausing in his work for a brief moment.

"Will!"


	32. Dinner and a Movie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone loves a good roommate AU

Will thought that Nico was a pretty cool dude, even if he didn’t know all that much about him. Sure, they lived together and everything, but Nico worked as a bar tender at a club and by the time Will was coming back from his shift at the hospital, Nico was leaving to go to work.

All Will really knew about him in the small amount of time he had spent with his roommate (when Leo wasn’t there, anyways, and bunking for the night at his girlfriend’s) was that Nico was half-Italian, a D.C. native and struggling through law school on his father’s wishes. To Will, all five and a half feet of Nico di Angelo didn’t look very intimidating and lawyer like, but the dude could argue.

The end of the fall trimester brought Nico spending more time at home with a textbook open in his lap so he could study and less hours at the bar. Will actually saw him in the evenings. Cooked dinner with him one night when Leo ditched them. Talked to him about his day. Learned some more about him and realized that Nico had more of a personality than “exhausted-looking hourly employee” and “annoyed and disgruntled bar maid” that Will saw day-to-day.

"And then I see that some asshole has tried to drug the girl next to him, so when he isn’t looking I switch their drinks and watch as he slowly roofied himself."

"Dear God, and so you just left him there?"

"I mean," Nico said, shrugging and sipping from his glass of cheap, grocery store wine, "I called him a cab at the end of the night and made sure he didn’t suffocate on his own spit, but yeah. Pretty much."

"He deserved it. EMTs are always talking about the number of drug incidences they get from that part of town, it’s awful." Will said. He turned the heat off on the stove and moved the pan of stir fry onto a cool burner. It was odd to be eating actual healthy food for once and not by himself, either. It was kind of intimate, Will noticed. Wine (however bad), a meal (however cheap), company (if a bit quiet) and Netflix (if a bit un-navigable) for later.

He liked Nico. The sudden realization hit him. He generally liked Nico and thought…well…he was kinda cute too.

Will thought he had a decently good chance. He hated to stereotype but anyone who wore jeans that tight couldn’t be  _completely_  straight.

"Could you grab some plates, Nico?"

"Yeah, sure." Nico said, and out of the corner of his eye, Will could see Nico set his wine down and go up on his toes in order to reach their very expensive Marshall’s plates, a whole $8.99 for a set. The distracting thing, though, was the strip of skin visible when Nico’s shirt rode up as he reached.

"That looks great. Better than pretzels and beer nuts." Nico said, coming over and leaning around Will’s shoulder. Nico smelled like Old Spice. 

 _If that’s all he eats no wonder he can fit into those pants, Christ,_ Will thought, starting to serve the food. 

"Touche, Solace," Nico said, grinning a little. Will felt himself go red and it took all of his control not to drop the spoon in his hand. 

"Did I…?"

"Say that out loud? Yes. But you’re lucky that I’m gay and haven’t been laid in months."

"We could change that?" Will said, and he almost kicked himself for it.

"Keep talking, Solace," Nico said, taking his plate from in front of Will, "And I might let you, tonight." 

Will only felt a little better when he saw that Nico was also a bit pink from his flirting. So he wasn’t the only one, then.

Netflix might just have to wait.


	33. The weather up there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico has a love-hate relationship with Will's stature.

Nico would being telling the truth when he said that the thing that annoyed him the most was Will Solace. All 6-goddamn-feet of him.

Ever since they’d “officially” started dating, Will had discovered a new found love and wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist and resting his head on top of his boyfriend’s. It wasn’t so much the impromptu hugs that bothered Nico, it was the constant reminder that he was so much shorter than the blond.

He already had to deal with Jason and Percy being so much taller. No fair that Will got to be taller than him too. 

However, Nico would also be telling the truth when he said that one of his favorite things about Will Solace was his height. All 6-goddamn-feet of him. 

Cuddling, for instance, was spectacular. When Nico was cold or wanted to get away from the generally annoying population of Camp Half-Blood all he would have to do was tuck his head under Will’s chin and let the taller man wrap his arms around him. He could always hear Will’s heartbeat when they were close like that, and it was quickly becoming one of Nico’s favorite sounds. 

Hoodies. That was another reason Nico loved Will’s height. 

Nico was quickly coming to be known as the hoodie thief. Will’s sweatshirts practically swallowed him whole, but that was the best part. That, and that they smelled like Will: fresh air and Irish Spring deodorant. Will, whenever he lost a sweatshirt, was finding himself more and more at the door of Nico’s cabin to politely ask if he could have his clothing back.

He never did get it back. 

So, really and truly, Nico didn’t  _completely_  dislike Will’s height. But that wouldn’t stop him from giving him shit about it whenever he could.


	34. Paperwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damn those tedious medical forms

**Name:** Nico di Angelo

 **DOB:**  uh…1937??? **Age:** Aprox. 14

 **Height:**  5’6”                      **Weight:**  109 lbs

 **Medical History:** I get stabbed a lot??? This dead guy in Asphodel once said I was depressed, I think he was a doctor previously. Low blood pressure.

 **Family Medical History:** My family has a tendency to get smite-d, if that means anything. High cholesterol on mother’s side.

 **Parents and Immediate family:** Father: Hades. Mother: Maria di Angelo (deceased). Sisters: Bianca di Angelo (deceased), Hazel Levesque (Previously deceased). 

 **Emergency contact:** Hazel Levesque (sister), Camp Jupiter, CA. Or Alecto. Whomever my father sends to come find me.

 **Current Place of Residence:** Camp Half-Blood, NY. The Underworld. Camp Jupiter. DC, for a while.

 **Issue admitted to the infirmary with:** Exhaustion from excessive shadow traveling and fading from the corporal world. Both seem to have been fixed.

 **Any questions for the Healer today?:** Yeah, can I leave now? The back up in the Underworld is gonna mean weeks of paperwork.

Will looked up from the paperwork Nico had filled out. Said patient was currently tying up his boots, his t-shirt tight enough that you could see almost his entire rib cage.

"Are you alright, Nico?" Will found himself asking.

"Yeah, why?" Nico said, giving him a strange look. He paused in tying up his shoes.

"It’s just," Will started, "You’ve been through a lot."

"I guess. But it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ve gotten through worse."

"I’m worried about you." Will said, feeling his face flush a little, "Do you just want to, I don’t know. Stick around a little while? Grab some lunch with me, maybe?"

"I don’t want your pity." Nico said. He stood up and faced Will with his arms crossed.

"I don’t want to pity you, but it’s almost lunch time and quite frankly, you need all the food you can get right now." Will said. He set down the chart and opened the door to the infirmary. Nico gave him a strange look but finally uncrossed his arms and sighed.

"Fine, you win. Lead the way, Mr. Sunshine."


	35. Baby blue eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> from a song title cause im cheap

"You have really pretty eyes, did you know that?"

Will was taken by surprise at the complement. It wasn’t like Nico to randomly offer up compliments; that was usually more Will’s department. Will was very…poetic when it came to complements, and never failed to make Nico blush with them.

The sudden complement from Nico? Well that had  _Will_ blushing. 

"Th-thanks, Nico." Will said, looking at the younger boy, sure he was still a little pink in the face. 

"I mean it," Nico said, turning to face him and look him straight in the eye. Will felt like he was being appraised, but it was obvious Nico didn’t mean any harm by it. 

"I know," Will said, "I know you’re sincere."

"Good." Nico said, pausing for a minute. He seemed to collect his thoughts and then continued. "I just feel like sometimes you don’t think I appreciate you or something, and…you’re just…I dunno, really handsome and strong and goddamn Will your eyes they’re so…pretty. Yeah. They change colors, in the light and with the weather and they light up when you smile and please shut me up, I’m rambling."

Will was struck speechless by Nico’s sudden confession.

"See, they’re doing that thing, that changing colors thing. They’re all bright blue and happy and shit."

Will laughed, finally finding his voice. He brought Nico into his arms and pulled him close to his chest. 

"Thank you for the complement, sunshine. I appreciate it."

"Yours still sound nicer," Nico grumbled into Will’s shoulder.

"I must have a way with words," Will said, "But practice makes perfect."

"What, no way, asshole, you’re just trying to get me to be nice to you!"


	36. Whip your hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> back and forth

Nico brushed his bangs away the from his face, annoyed at all the wispy strands of hair that weren’t quite long enough to be included in his ponytail. Still, it was better than constantly having to push his hair back and untangle knots that formed when he wore his helmet. Either he’d have to grow his hair out longer for it to fit neatly back, or cut it off all together.

Having his hair out of his face made sparing easier. He could actually  _see_ his opponent. Even better, he could see to  _beat_ his opponent.  

Currently, he was sparring with one of the Ares kids, and winning. He parried the kid’s thrust and wrapped his blade around his opponent’s. The sword tumbled to the stone ground with a clang. 

"Whoooo! Yeah, go Nico!" someone shouted and Nico recognized it as none other than Will Solace, his medic bag hung across his shoulder. Count on the son of Apollo to be totally embarrassing. 

Even so, Nico shook hands with the Ares kid, who went off to his own cabin mates, defeated. 

Nico turned back around to see Will coming over to him and before he knew it, he was being picked up and twirled around in his boyfriend’s arms. 

"Hey, wait a minute, that’s new." Will said, setting him down. Nico looked at him quizzically, before realizing that Will was talking about his ponytail.

"Uh, yeah, Hazel put it up for me. It was starting to get in my face." Nico said, blushing a little and ducking his head to stare at Will’s toes peaking out from his flip flops.

Will tugged on the end of the ponytail, “Looks cute. I like you’re hair long.”

Nico looked up to meet his boyfriend’s gaze, “Yeah?”

"Yeah," Will said, and leaned closer to whisper into Nico’s ear, "Gives me something to run my fingers through, ya know."

"Hm, not really," Nico said, "You should show me."

Will’s first look of confusion turned into one of knowing and made the son of Apollo grin a little bit, “I think I could pencil you in.”

"Is now alright?" Nico asked, getting ready to shadow travel them to the Hades cabin.

"I think now would be perfect."


	37. Halloween special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but enjoy this, even if you don't celebrate Halloween where you live!

"Nico, NICO!" Nico sighed, forcing himself up from the softness of the couch to his feet.Will was yelling from their shared bathroom, and he sounded like he was in distress.

Inside the bathroom, Will was definitely struggling. He had gotten his arms caught in the tight fabric of his costume and was currently in the middle struggling to get free. The cowl of his costume had gotten pulled low over his eyes and altogether, he looked like the victim of spontaneous cartoon physics.

Nico tried to hide his smile, which was pretty easy to, behind his mask.

"Who the hell is Nico?" Nico asked, after he pulled his mask down far enough to talk.

"Glad you’re enjoying this." Will grumbled, turning to face his boyfriend as best he could.

"Forgive me for getting into the spirit of the holiday. See we should’ve gone with my idea." Nico said, taking the fabric of Will’s shirt and pulling it down so Will could get his arms in the sleeves. With the palm of his hand, Nico pushed up the cowl so Will could properly look at him.

"Hey there." Nico said with a peck to Will’s mouth.

"I would’ve made a horrible Sally." Will said, straightening up now that he was free from his confines.

"Too bad. I would’ve made a great Jack Skellington. You’re lucky I have the thighs to pull this off." Nico said. He watched in amusement as Will’s eyes, behind the cowl, wandered down to Nico’s legs wrapped in his tight, black costume.

"Very lucky," Will said, wrapping his arms around Nico and pulling him close to him. "My hero."

Nico snorted, "You’re also lucky I decided to go along with your idea."

"Oh c’mon, Captain America and Bucky Barnes is a classic." Will wasn’t exactly built to be Captain America. If anything, Nico could draw more parallels between his boyfriend and Hawkeye, but Will had the all-American golden boy look that filled out the costume nicely. Nico, meanwhile, was just trying to look menacing (and doing pretty well, he thought) in his Winter Soldier getup while rocking the guy-liner.

"Why did we agree to go to Percy and Annabeth’s party this year anyways?" "Different reasons," Will said, pulling away from Nico and checking out the fit of the costume in the vanity mirror. "I’m going for the free food. You’re going for blackmail material. Something about your sister, Frank and couple costumes?"

"Oh," Nico said, "Right, I remember now. Shall we, Captain?"

"We shall, sergeant."


	38. If you think I'm sexy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come on suga' let me know

"You know, you should really just take pity on me and stab me in the brain or something." Will says one day. They’re repainting the Big House, because after a couple of almost apocalypses, it could really use a new coat of paint. Nico and Will just happened to have corresponding free periods, and so they were stuck with paint rollers in their hand and a can of yellow paint between them.

"What?" Nico asks, a little bewildered because that is a very un-Will-like thing to say.

"You’re adorable and you don’t even know it. Of course." Will grumbles.

"Adorable?" Nico says. He reaches on his toes to get a particularly hard to reach area and Will groans next to him. He blushes a little when he realizes that his shirt rode up when he reached. Is that what Will had been grumbling about?

"Yeah. Adorable. I don’t know if you have some sort of mind control with that whole Son of Hades thing, ‘cause it didn’t show up when you were in the infirmary, but I can’t stop noticing all these cute things you do and I want my mind back." Will says, shoulders drooping.

Nico is really blushing now. He sets down his paint roller and wipes his paint speckled hands on his paint speckled jeans. "You have to be crazy." Nico says, "You’re crazy. The fresh paint smell must be going to your head."

"Nuh-uh." Will says, "It’s true. I can’t seem to forget all the times you get frustrated and swear in Italian, or how you go like the Energizer Bunny until you collapse in the most convenient place. You’re even more adorable when you’re sleepy and—"

Nico surges forward and quickly presses his lips against Wills, effectively shutting him up.

The blond blinks distractedly for about half a minute before muttering: "Um. Yeah."

"So…maybe lunch? After this."

"Um. Yeah."


	39. let me be your hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon that Alecto is the official Royal Babysitter of the Underworld

"Do  _not_ come in here,” the son of Apollo said with so much force that Alecto was momentarily taken aback by the mortal. “Do not come in here, do not touch him, do not even  _think_  about him. You and your…people did this to him and you don’t get him back until I say so.”

Honestly, Alecto would just gobble up this annoying brat if her charge wouldn’t be furious at her after the fact. This sun spawn was annoying and bratty and didn’t know his place.

For some reason, Master Nico was incredibly fond of him. 

The child did have a point though, not that she’d ever say, about it being more of less the fault of the Underworld and its staff. He’d overdone it, Master Nico, with the shadow traveling  _again_ , making everyone cranky and unhappy and Lord Hades had practically smite’d her as she hurried to take her prince to the arms of his Healer. 

And then this child had the nerve to tell her where she could and couldn’t go?! Ugh, it was a very bad day, all in all. 

She didn’t have any other choice but to wait outside, peering in at her unconscious master and his Healer, who busied himself with mixing several clear liquids together and hooking up her master to an IV drip.  

Before long, Alecto could see the sun spawn squat down next to her charge, running his hands over his forehead and cheeks and checking his pulse. The blond Healer started to glow a bit, as if being blessed, as he chanted prayers to his father to heal his patient. 

Alecto supposed it was beautiful, but it was also sappy so she decided to hate it on principle. 

"Madam, I suggest you leave." Alecto nearly jumped into another form when she heard the stern, old voice behind her. It was that damn horse-hybrid, Chiron, who was looking at her sternly down the bridge of his nose.

"Master Nico is my responsibility, I am to make sure he is safe."

"He couldn’t be safer in the hands of Will Solace. However, if the son of Apollo catches you lurking about like this after he told you to leave, it will be you, who we will have to worry about."

So Alecto growled and left, because she didn’t feel like going to Tartarus even if it was for her charge, and being killed by a son of Apollo who was only good at healing people would make her the laughing stock of the pit.


	40. Oh Romeo, Romeo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> why the fuck is you romeo

Will hadn’t meant to run late. He’d set his alarm like always, exactly for 6 am so he could get up and go for a run, have time to shower, change, get breakfast and be out the door by 7:30. 

This morning, he’d been woken up by his roommate pounding on the door at a quarter-to-8 asking “don’t you have class today?”

It was not a good time for his alarm clock to run out of batteries. 

He slipped into the lecture a little later than he would’ve liked, and the only available seat he could find was one far in the back, next to some punk-looking kid who looked half asleep. Not that Will blamed him exactly. College Freshman English wasn’t exactly a riveting subject.

He slid into his seat, pulling out his notes and his laptop and got a better look at the kid he was sitting next to.

He looked a little younger than Will, with dark hair pulled back into a little ponytail, the ends bleached blond. His chin, angular and aristocratic looking, was propped up in one hand, his eyelids drooping. Will did his best to lean as far away from him as possible and focus on the lecture.

"…now if we go back to Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s masterpiece…"

"Full of rape jokes and drunken frat boys."

It took Will a moment to put together that it had been the guy sitting next to him, muttering under his breath. Although he didn’t look anymore awake, it definitely had been him who had been speaking. The comment made a corner of Will’s mouth twitch up a bit.

"…we’ve all read recently…"

"Like 9th grade recent, Jesus."

Will tried to suppress a giggle. He really did, but it escaped, and the boy next to him turned a little in his seat to look at him better. He had brown eyes, the color of dark chocolate, that widened just a bit when he grinned at Will.

"Shakespeare attempts to describe the greatest love story ever told. Now we can draw parallels to many modern day artworks—"

"That’s how I like my love stories; spoiled rich brats falling in love and committing suicide." The boy whispered, making eye contact with Will as he spoke. Will felt his face flush a little, but he laughed again at the boy’s comment. From that point on, the stranger next to him didn’t even try to restrain himself from sarcastically commenting on everything their professor said. Will had very few notes taken by the end of the lecture, thought he wasn’t entirely upset with the outcome.

Will bent down to pick up his bag. when he looked up, the boy next to him was still looking at him, albeit a little cautiously.

"If you were laughing at that stuff, you should hear me when I’m actually trying to be funny." The stranger said, "I’m Nico, by the way."

"Will."

As they shook hands, Nico seemed to realize something, “God I hope you’re not a Lit major.”

Will chuckled, “Nah. Pre-med. I’m just taking this for—”

"The credits. Yeah. Same." Nico said, zipping up his laptop case. Will didn’t know what suddenly came over him, but he wanted to get to know more about this incredibly sarcastic and funny man with gorgeous eyes sitting next to him.

"So…I didn’t take down a whole lot of notes—"

"You think I did?"

"No, but I was wondering if we could put our heads together and make heads or tails of the assignment."

Nico paused and seemed to ponder Will’s request, while Will was mentally slapping himself for even bringing it up.

"Alright, Romeo. I accept. But you should know I don’t put out on the first date and you’re buying."

Will laughed again, blushing hard, and followed Nico out of the lecture hall.


	41. Take me Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To the ball game
> 
> Take me out to the crowd~

Nico didn’t even  _like_  baseball that much. Hell, Nico didn’t even like hot dogs or cheap beer that much, and if it wasn’t for Percy fucking Jackson’s big, green puppy eyes, he would still be having a Netflix marathon on his couch. 

So he sat, with his hot dog and his cheap beer and watched the Yankees and Rangers try to hit balls with sticks. 

The group sitting next to Nico was obviously supporting the Rangers, decked out in Texas colors and arguing about RBIs and ERAs and other acronyms that Nico didn’t really care about. 

He looked blankly onto the field and didn’t bother cheering when Percy’s team, the Yankees, made some kind of play that was apparently pretty good. The group on Nico’s left seemed outraged. 

When everything quieted down again, the blond to Nico’s immediate left plopped down beside him and said, “You don’t seem to be enjoying yourself.”

The man was relatively good looking, Nico supposed. He had those regular American features, blond hair and blue eyes, and probably would bleed red, white and blue if cut. 

"Not exactly a baseball fan." Nico said, "I’m just here because I was bodily dragged here."

"Shut up. You’re happy to be included!" Percy interjected from two seats over.

The man laughed, “Hey, to each his own, that’s cool.”

Even though Nico really hadn’t asked, the man went ahead and began to explain the game to him. Though it hadn’t been asked for, Nico still appreciated the lesson. It made the game slightly more interesting than watching a bunch of sweaty guys running around, hitting balls with sticks, not that there was any problem with that version either. 

And once the lesson had sort of ended, the stranger started making small talk, “I’m Will, by the way.”

"Nico." Nico offered.

"You a New York native?" Will asked amiably. 

"Not exactly."

"Nico was born in Italy!" Percy said around a mouthful of hot dog. Nico sent his cousin a death glare.

"Oh yeah," Will said, "Whereabouts?"

"Venice." Nico said, "You a… _Texas native_?”

"Born and raised," Will grinned. He opened his mouth to say more but was cut off by the seventh inning kiss cam. 

"Hey guys…that’s you." Annabeth, Percy’s fiancee, said. And sure enough, Nico and Will had been leaning close enough to each other that it looked as though they were dating and wouldn’t mind smooching for the good of the public. Nico tried to make some sort of gesture that no, they weren’t together and he didn’t even know this man and he was from Texas and not New York and was probably straight and—

Will grabbed him by the front of his borrowed Yankees jersey and planted one right on his lips. Cheers erupted around the stadium, but it was a faint noise in Nico’s ears. Will was a  _very_  good kisser. He didn’t know how they raised them in Texas but they had to be doing something right. 

"Are you guys gonna spend the rest of the game making out, because I really didn’t bring you along just so you could make out with a guy." Percy whined.

Nico flipped him off.  


	42. Just Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> use your imagination when it comes to the wedding mentioned
> 
> based off of someone's headcanon on tumblr

"C’mon Will, you have it in you somewhere." Nico said, for the nth time that day trying to pull his boyfriend through the basic movements of the tango. It’s not that Will didn’t have rhythm, Will could count music just fine, it was simply that the steps Will thought and the steps his feet did wouldn’t, for the life of him, match up.

Nico blamed Will’s dominant Anglo genes for his stiff hips and uncoordinated shoulders. While Nico rolled his hips and ball-changed and shimmied his shoulders, Will looked like he was having a seizure.

"It’s deeper than I would like to say." Will muttered, stepping on his feet again and cursing.

"You said you could dance," Nico said, not unkindly, as he relaxed Will’s death grip on his hand, beginning their dance again.

"Sure," Will said, "In a line and in a square. We don’t do this back home. You may need to find yourself a new dance partner for the wedding, Nico, ‘m sorry."

Nico slowed their movement to a stop. The son of Hades lifted Will’s chin (the blond had the bad habit of looking at his feet as he fumbled through the steps) so he could look him in the eyes. “I’m not going to get another partner. I just want to dance with you, so if that means just standing and swaying, then that’s what we’ll do.”

"Thanks, darlin’. You’re—you’re wonderful."

"Don’t you fucking forget it." Nico said. Without further ado, he wrapped his arms around Will’s neck and pressed his forehead to the older man’s.


	43. Clean Plate Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is not a member

"Would you just eat it and smile, please." Will whispered to him angrily. Nico set his jaw and looked at his plate in front of him. He didn’t want to seem rude of course, but he could feel himself getting a blood clot just looking at the food in front of him.

Gravy and biscuits. A side of pork. Thick as tar chili. 

Diabetes and a heart attack waiting to happen. 

Still it had been nice of Will’s mother to cook for him, especially in her southern style, but one helping of everything had been enough and Nico was fit to burst with seconds.

"I would but I can’t." Nico whispered back just as tersely. 

Will sighed through his nose and made a sudden clicking sound with his tongue. The Solace’s big Golden Retriever lumbered over and came to sit by Will’s side under the table. Wary of his mother’s gaze, Will took Nico’s plate of biscuits and pork and held it down for the dog to lick up. In a couple of minutes, Nico’s plate was clean.

"You’re welcome."

"Thanks." Nico said. 

It seemed as though Ms. Solace was attracted to the sight of clean dishes because she soon caught eye of Nico’s and called, “I hope you boys saved some room for cobbler.”

Nico groaned.


	44. Get a room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written by Rach

Will fumbled with his apartment keys in his half asleep state. It was quarter ‘til 3 am and he smelled awful, and had a blood stain on his scrubs that he’d rather not talk about. As a surgical intern he was basically a slave of his resident whom they referred to as the Nazi behind her back. She’d made him work a 32 hour shift and he could hardly stay awake by the end of it.

Will had just pushed open his apartment door when the fire alarm went off.

"For fucks sakes," he groaned as he tossed his bag back over his shoulder and turned back to the stairwell.

The 9 story apartment building housed 100 people that now flooded the hallways and stairwell. Once he fought his way outside Will crossed the road and stared at the now flaming building with the rest of its residents. Beside him appeared his neighbor who was clothed in only his boxers and shivering in the cold November air.

"God damnit," the boy cursed as he bounced back and forth trying to stay warm. Will wasn’t the kind of person to check people out during fire evacuations but damn his neighbor looked good. His pale skin was marred by a few odd scars that made him curious as to how he got them. The dark hair on his head was sticking out at odd angles but somehow was still quite attractive to Will.

"Got a problem?" His neighbor asked him when he saw him staring.

Will blushed and looked down before mumbling, “No, sorry.”

"Don’t be," the boy smirked, "seriously who the fuck was cooking at 3 am?"

"I have no idea," Will grumbled, "I just got home from work when the alarm sounded."

"Yeah you look ready to fall over. I’m Nico by the way," he said.

"Will. And why have we never met before?"

"You’re shitty hours probably," Nico said. Will nodded before he tossed a jacket out of his bag to Nico.

"Thanks," Nico said with a smile as he pulled the way too big sweatshirt over his tiny frame.

Firefighters ran around hosing the place down with water.

"Aw man. We’re going to have to stay in a hotel for a while huh," Will said as he looked at the charred building.

"Yeah. We should share a room," Nico suggested.

"Wait what?" Will blurted out, surprised.

"It would have plenty of upsides. We could split the cost and the bed," Nico joked.

"Wait, are you serious?" Nico leaned in and kissed Will, which he was pleasantly surprised about.

"What do you think?"


	45. Secrets are No Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unless they're shared with your little sister

"You alright, Nico?" Hazel asked in that concerned, sister voice of hers that Nico hated. 

Nico looked up vaguely from poking the paper wrapper of his muffin from the cafe they were outside of. He tried for a reassuring smile but he didn’t know how successful he was. Probably not very. 

"Fine." Nico said, his chest feeling tight, "Peachy."

"Ok, now I  _really_  want to know the reason you called me here if you’re using words like  _peachy_.” Hazel said in that all-knowing, sister voice of hers that Nico only tolerated. 

Nico cleared his throat and stirred his iced tea with his straw, still not meeting his sister’s eyes. “Yeah…so…” He took a deep breath, “You know Will Solace, right? The head medic at Camp Half-Blood?”

Hazel nodded, “Yeah.” The beginnings of a smile were starting to tug the corners of her mouth upwards.

"Well…um. A couple weeks ago, he asked me out on a date and…well—" Nico coughed, hoping he wasn’t as red as a tomato but knew it was probably inevitable, "We’ve been seeing each other. For a while."

Hazel was full-on grinning now, obviously happy for her big brother. 

"Nico, that’s wonderful! You really like him, don’t you?"

"Yeah," Nico cleared his throat again, "He’s sweet and smart and nice and…yeah, I really like him."

Hazel reached across the table and Nico’s plate to clasp one of Nico’s hands in both of hers, “I’m so happy that you’re finally happy. Thank you for telling me.”

"Yeah, well…you’re really the first person I’ve told."

"Not even Jason?"

Nico shook his head.

"Wow, well, I’m really flattered then. The only thing I have to do now is meet this guy. You know, just to make sure he’s good enough for my big brother."

"Gods, Hazel!" Nico groaned as his sister laughed, proceeding to cover his face with his free hand.


	46. Wedding Bells (Sort of)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bonus percabeth??

When Nico is 18, he watches a barely legal-drinking age Annabeth Diana Chase chase walk down the aisle on the arm of her father to marry Perseus Allen Jackson on the four year anniversary of defeating Gaea. 

He would like to say he doesn’t cry during their vows, but he does. In his defense however, there isn’t a dry eye in the house. They’re not far from Montauk, where Nico knows Percy and Annabeth are spending part of their honeymoon. It’s a gorgeous day, close to the ocean, and Annabeth and Percy couldn’t be more of a perfect couple.

Chiron officiates the ceremony in his wheelchair because there are a few mortals present. Grover looks very handsome in his tux (which he’s managed not to eat any part of) as best man and Annabeth somehow managed to get Thalia to wear the maid of honor dress, even if it isn’t black. 

Nico is standing between Leo and Jason in the line of groomsmen. He had walked with Reyna down the aisle, feeling like a part of something, though his eyes then, and now, were locked on Will. 

He’s sitting a few rows back from the front next to Apollo (all of the Olympians had been invited. All of them had showed up) and he’s dressed in a smart gray suit that makes his eyes look even bluer. 

Nico can see Will smiling at him, even though technically their attention should be on the bride and groom, but they’re two idiots in love and they both know it. 

Nico’s thought about marrying Will before. It would be nice, he thinks, to belong with someone, officially. 

But he’s already so happy with Will. They’re so happy together, he’s not sure he really needs the state of New York to make it official too. 

And later that evening, at the reception, he tucks his head into Will’s neck as they dance a stones throw away from the bride and groom and Nico thinks to himself, “This is what happiness is.”


	47. purple white gray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> all the shades in between

Nico liked to feel Will’s skin. He liked to snake his hands up the older demigod’s t-shirt and run his palms over the sun warmed skin there. Will had no tan lines and every time Nico saw Will naked enough to be reminded of this fact, it made him blush. 

Will liked to feel his skin too. Nico enjoyed it when the blond stripped him of his t-shirt for “medical reasons” and pressed kisses to every inch of skin he could get his lips on while Nico squirmed in his arms because he was ticklish as hell.

And when these tickle-kissing fights ended, they both liked to cuddle up together in Nico’s big bed in the Hades cabin, Nico’s head tucked under Will’s chin.

Nico supposed if their lives were like the movies, their shirts being off and cuddling together in bed would be a perfect step into doing something more, but Will knew what Nico was and wasn’t comfortable with. Will knew a lot about Nico, actually. 

He knew that Nico’s favorite thing to do in bed was have Will run his hands up and down Nico’s back, in between his shoulder blades, while the son of Apollo sang to him. Nico would practically purr, drifting into a warm, comfortable haze as Will’s voice washed over him. The son of Apollo really couldn’t help bending down a little and kissing down Nico’s sternum, making the sleepy son of Hades giggle and swat at his boyfriend playfully. 

Nico deserved to be pampered, and that was exactly what Will was going to do. 

It had been easier living without sex than Will had thought; not that there was anything wrong with Nico—Nico was perfect and just because he didn’t like sex or want sex didn’t make him sick or weird or anything. Will loved Nico, his asexuality and all, it made Nico the perfect Nico. 

And Nico…Nico made him feel so complete without anything sexual. Tucking his head under Will’s, holding Will’s hand in public, hell,  _kissing_  him in public—those were the small moments that Will loved. 

Will didn’t need to have sex with Nico to know that he loved him, just like Nico didn’t need sex to know that he loved Will. They were perfect together, in this moment, curled in Nico’s bed while they blocked out the world around them.


	48. Merry Christmas!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or as Nico would say: "Buon Natale!"

Nico’s hands were pruny from peeling so many potatoes. His calves had started cramping about half an hour ago (because apparently combat boots were stylish but not very big on arch support) and “Jingle Bell Rock” had played at least ten times in the last half hour to the point where he could sing the words in his sleep.

Nico couldn’t remember ever being happier on Christmas.

He stood next to Will, watching the taller blond cut up the potatoes that Nico had peeled. Will’s arms moved with easy, deft movements and they were standing close enough that Nico could feel the heat radiating off of Will. Every so often, Will would bump his hip next to Nico’s and kiss him when he thought no one was looking. Definitely the best Christmas ever.

He’d almost been surprised how easily he’d been accepted into the Solace family for Christmas. Ms. Solace, insisting that Nico call her Daphne, had been waiting for them at the airport, dressed in a horrendous Christmas sweater and smiling bright enough to light all of Austin, Texas. Back at the Solace’s family Bed and Breakfast, Nico had met Will’s stepdad Harry and been pulled, head first, into Solace family Christmas.

There had been lots of food: a roast, rice pudding, three kinds of pie, green beans, mashed potatoes—enough food to make Nico think that he wasn’t going to be able to eat until the New Year. After dinner, he’d sat between Will’s legs, reclined against his boyfriend’s broad chest while the southerner took a paring knife to peel an apple that had been left in the bottom of his stocking.

“Are you having a good time?” Will had asking, sucking some juice off his thumb.

“Best Christmas ever.” Nico had answered, “Well, the best Christmas I remember, anyways.”

Will had kissed the back of his neck a few times before asking again, “Do you remember anything with your mom and sister?”

Nico shrugged, “Maybe? I don’t know. I remember going to midnight mass. And the food, gods, there was a lot of food. We ate fish on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas day we’d have all of my Mama’s family over and have sweet breads and pasta and turkey…Sometimes I miss Italy, even though I don’t remember a whole lot of it.”

“We could go to mass, if you want.” Will had shrugged then, putting down his knife and half-eaten apple.

“Will, you’re agnostic and live in a very Protestant area. We don’t have to go to mass. Honestly, I’m not even sure I believe in God anymore. Not when we belong to an entirely different pantheon.”

“Fair enough, but is there anything you want to do? Maybe not going to church, but, well, I want this Christmas to be about you, too, and not just doing what we usually do.”

So Nico had thought about it, wrapped up in a homemade sweater and Will’s warm embrace by the fire Harry had lit. The house smelled like pine from the six-feet-tall Christmas tree by the cedar dining room table. Harry and Daphne sat some ways away, Harry reading a book and Daphne knitting in relative, peaceful, silence.

“I’d like to sing some hymns maybe. That would be nice.”

Will had whipped out his smartphone, complete with Valdez patented tech that didn’t let monsters detect them, and Googled it. That night, the soft sound of Will’s voice had lulled him into a peaceful sleep, dreaming about Christmas overlooking the canals in Venice.

He’d been woken up that morning to the smell of French toast and the call to get ready because they’d be leaving for the soup kitchen soon, as per Solace family tradition.

Nico liked the idea of giving back on Christmas, especially to people less fortunate than he was. He knew what it was like to be homeless and alone on Christmas and didn’t wish that upon anyone. Also, being completely idle over the holidays had started to get to him and he was happy to have a task to complete.

He watched out of the kitchen window with Will as they moved on to peeling and chopping up carrots and Harry, dressed as Santa Claus, picked up a little girl and sat her on his lap. Harry made a pretty good Santa Claus; Will was really lucky to have a stepdad that generally seemed to be a caring mortal.

“Hey, Nico, I just realized something.” Will said. Nico turned away from his peeling for a moment to look at Will, who had turned his gaze upward. Nico followed the blond’s line of sight to see what he was looking at: a cardboard cut out of mistletoe that had been suspended from the drop ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the cooks look at them knowingly.

“This counts, right? Even if it’s not the real thing.” Will said. He had that hopeful look in his eyes that Nico couldn’t say no to.

Instead of answering him, though, Nico took the initiative to wrap one of his pruny hands in the collar of Will’s shirt and pull him down for a kiss.

“Merry Christmas, Will.” He mumbled, pulling away.

Will had that easy, lopsided grin on his face, “Merry Christmas to you too, Nico. Buon Natale.”

“You’re accent is horrible—Hey, don’t throw carrot pieces at me!”


	49. Make Me Well Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sick, so Will is sick because I too wish I had a Nico di Angelo to take care of me.

Nico set the mug of hot tea on the tray next to the bowl of soup and carefully picked everything up. He thanked his extensive combat training for his ability not to spill a drop of anything as he walked from the apartment’s kitchen to the bedroom. Padding through the hallway, he carefully opened the bedroom door with a push of his hips and delivered the food to his patient. 

"Here we are," Nico said, "Minestrone soup, just like Mama used to make."

"Really?" came from somewhere underneath a massive pile of blankets and pillows. Will was in there somewhere. 

"Um…maybe. I don’t actually know. It’s a Giada De Laurentiis recipe, though, so at least it’s authentic. Can you sit up?"

Slowly but surely, Will emerged from his nest on the bed, looking pale and sweating sickly. Usually, Will had a Grade A immune system and rarely got the sniffles even, like most children of Apollo, but when he got sick, he got _really_   _sick_. 

In just a couple of hours, Will’s temperature had skyrocketed to nerve wracking heights. It was plenty safe to say that Nico was a tad worried. 

After Will had settled into a comfortable position, Nico delicately placed the tray of hot food onto his lap. With shaking hands, the son if Apollo took the spoon and ate small bite after small bite. As Will ate, Nico walked around the end of the bed and sat down next to his boyfriend. 

The son of Hades frowned as he watched Will shiver in the relatively warm room. This would not do. Will was supposed to be the strong, healthy one. Nico was going to make sure Will got back into tip-top shape. 

"Sorry to be such a burden." Will muttered, leaning back into the pillows and leaving his soup only half-eaten. 

"Wha-no, you’re not being a burden. You’re sick, I’m trying to take care of you." Nico paused when a sudden realization came to him, "Gods, is that what I sound like when you take care of me?"

Will gave him a sheepish look, “You’re a little better than you used to be. I’ll give you tha—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as a fit of coughing over took him. Jumping into action, Nico quickly removed the tray from Will’s lap and set it aside. That taken care of, he rubbed Will’s back as he tried to subdue the coughing fit. 

"Water?" Will croaked. Nico found he bottle on the bedside table, unscrewed the cap and presented to him. Will took a long drink.

"Are you alright,  _tesoro_?” Nico asked. Will gave a slight nod and handed the bottle back to Nico. After returning it to its proper place, Nico relaxed back into the bed with Will snuggling into him. 

"Mm, I like it when you’re the big spoon." Will said into Nico’s shoulder. "And…thanks again for taking care of me."

"Of course,  _bello,_ ”

"I don’t feel  _bello_.”

Nico let out a little laugh and held Will a little tighter, “Shut up and sleep, Solace. You need all the rest you can get. Doctor’s orders.”

"Hey wait a minute, you can’t take my line."


	50. Place down town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow fifty chapters

"A dive bar, really, Lou? The one day I volunteer to be DD you pick this place?"

Lou Ellen shook her spiky, glittery hair and laughed at him, “Karma, Solace. This is what you get for picking that rodeo place last week.”

"There wasn’t anything wrong with that place, thank you very much." Will grumbled, but he followed Lou to a table just in front of a stage that was in in the back of the bar.

Lou Ellen sat down and seemed to search the sizable crowd for someone in particular. "God, I hope Cecil gets here soon, they’re set to start any minute."

"Whose set to start—," Will started to ask, but suddenly the lights dimmed and a group of men about Will’s age came onto the stage. They all wore their hair similarly to Lou, short and spiky and dyed, except for the lead singer who caught Will’s eye; his hair was long and dark and fell around his face in silky layers.

"Evening, everyone. We are ‘Asphodel’." The singer said into the microphone. He had an accent Will couldn’t place. They played a fifteen minute set, most of which Will spent ogling the lead singer. The man’s skin-tight black clothing didn’t leave much to the imagination.

At the end of the last song, the singer winked at Will, or at least in Will’s direction, before following the rest of his band mates off stage. Lou pulled Will out of his reverie and the blond was surprised to find that Cecil had shown up sometime during the performance. “C’mon loverboy, time to meet Nico.”

"Nico?"

Lou Ellen laughed, “Yeah, the guy you were making the bedroom eyes at for the last few minutes. Ring a bell?”

Will at least had the decency to blush.


	51. Happy Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> have a florist au

An attractive blond rushes into the shop, frantic with worry. His coat is thrown on haphazardly, and one end of his scarf is much shorter than the other as it falls around his neck. Nico’s hopes climb for only a moment until he remembers what day this is and the many possibilities as to why this blond man would be in such a hurry.

Brunet, Nico thinks, as he tries to imagine the man’s significant other, probably a model. The customer looks like a doctor, and models like doctors. Everyone likes doctors. Hell, Nico likes doctors.

The flower shop ( _Persephone’s Garden_ , and Nico is stuck working there on Valentine’s Day because 1: he has no significant other and 2: because Persephone is his step-mother and frankly scares the hell out of him) had been busy for most of the morning, but with lunch time rolling around there was a lull in activity. The blond has no trouble rushing up to the counter and slams his palms on the marble counter in frantic exhaustion.

“How big of a bouquet would I have to buy for my mother _not_ to kill me?” The man asks, searching Nico’s eyes.

The statement certainly surprises Nico, because it tells him two things. 1: Blondy probably doesn’t have a girlfriend or boyfriend or someone in between because he’d be even more stressed and 2: this man needs a very large assortment of flowers.

“A very big one.” Nico tells him.

“Right, right.” Blondy says, more to himself than Nico, and suddenly pulls out his wallet, “Just give me something with a lot of pink. Women like pink, right? I feel like I should know but, God, I really don’t and—,”

“Women just like getting flowers, sir.” Nico says. Hot, probably gay doctor? Alright, Nico could manage. He rifles under the counter to give the man the order form. Blondy takes the paperwork gratefully and Nico tries not to drool over the little half-smile, lopsided on the right, which the man gives.

He sends the order to Katie in the back, as Blondy finishes the paperwork, and hopes that Katie can pull it off before the man has a full-fledged panic attack.

 _Will Solace_ , the order form tells him, and Nico thinks that’s a very nice name for a very nice looking probably-doctor who is probably-gay.

“So, um,” Will squints to read Nico’s nametag, “Nico. I can’t imagine working on Valentine’s Day is much fun.”

God, is he trying to make small talk? Nico hates small talk.

“Better than working during Christmas.” Nico shrugs.

“Oh, God, I bet. You wouldn’t believe the number of turkey baster incidents that happen around the holiday season. I’m an ER doctor, which is so not as glamorous as the TV shows make it out to be—,”

Totally a doctor. Nice call, di Angelo.

Nico is content to let Will do most of the talking as they wait for the arrangement. Will talks about things from his occupation to his mother and her rabid corgi and then the weather and possibly if he likes American Idol and other things Nico either doesn’t know about or doesn’t care about or a combination of the two. Even so, it’s a nice stray from the usual customers who just wait by the window because the cell service is better there and give him the stink eye as if that will help him hurry their orders along.

Will is…kind of endearing.

Almost too soon, Katie is delivering a huge assortment of pink, purple and white flowers in a glass vase. Will looks rightly impressed. Katie is probably the only employee that Nico knows actually enjoys the floristry business.

“Wow, ok, I won’t be dead meat after all, thanks.” Will says sincerely, and Katie flushes a little with pride.

Nico rings him up, and Will doesn’t even give the admittedly hefty total a second look. As soon as Nico gives him the receipt, Will pauses.

“I know this might be a little forward, but, um…would you mind if I gave you my phone number?” Will blushes and rubs the back of his neck.

Nico just grins and snatches Will’s receipt back to write his phone number on before Will can say another word.


	52. Just like a--

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> circus au requested by Cavaliera_Del_Torte. Includes medic!Will Solace and backstage manager!Nico.

“What do you think, doc? Think he’ll live?” Percy asks. Nico would smack the back of the sword swallower’s head if his good arm wasn’t sprained.

Luckily, Will takes it all in good humor. From a mini fridge in the corner of the trailer, he takes out an ice pack and applies it to Nico’s sore wrist.

“I think he’ll pull through,” Will says, marking something down on a pad of paper. Maybe that Percy is an imbecile and the best cure for it is leaving Nico alone. Nico can hope, anyways.

“A couple weeks’ rest and Nico will be back to running backstage with an iron fist.” Will continues.

“Great. Percy, you can leave now. Oh, and tell Travis and Connor they better be in make-up twenty minutes before curtain call or I will be _very upset_.” Nico growls. It has the desired effect. Percy swallows visibly and with a quick few well wishes, he leaves the medical trailer. Nico feels more at peace as soon as he’s gone.

Will takes the ice off of Nico’s wrist and gingerly starts to wrap it in an ace bandage. It does kind of hurt, Nico thinks, but the ibuprofen that Will gave him is starting to kick in.

“How’d you do it, anyways?” Will asks. Nico tries to remember where they picked up the circus’ medic. He wants to say around the time they picked up the fire breather, Valdez, so either Austin or Huston. Will has a nice southern lilt to his voice that makes Nico feel at ease in his presence.

“I tripped over one of Jason’s fucking barbells. He has to stop leaving those things all over the place.” Nico says. Jason, though someone Nico personally thinks is one of the more tolerable circus members, has a bad habit of leaving his equipment here and there where someone could trip and hurt themselves. Like Nico just did.

“I don’t know how they’re going to get by without you, Nico.” When Will smiles the corners of his eyes crinkle.

“I’ll just have to hold my megaphone in my left hand.” Nico says.

Will grabs his pad of paper from before and jots something down. “I have to remind you that you shouldn’t write with that hand for the next week and a half at least. Or masturbate.”

“Jesus Christ.” Nico mutters.

Will shrugs, “Just have to remind you. It’s one of the rules Brunner makes me follow.”

“I’d hate to see what you tell people with concussions.” Nico says, hopping down from the examination table in the trailer.

“Hopefully, you’ll never have to find out.” Will says. He grabs a mason jar on the opposite counter and offers the contents to Nico, “Lollipop for being a good patient?”

Nico almost refuses one out of spite for being belittled, but takes a cherry flavored sucker, rips off the plastic with his teeth since he can’t open it with his hands, and sticks it in his mouth.

“Nico?”

“Yeah?” Nico says around the lollipop in his mouth.

“You should tell Jason to get his act together.” Will says. “I won’t have you coming in here again with something broken. Or, god forbid, a concussion.”

“I know you mean that metaphorically,” Nico says, “But I should also go tell him to get his stuff ready. Curtain call is in an hour-twenty and I have to make sure everyone is where they need to be before they start letting people in.”

“Right,” Will says. “See you after the show then?”

Nico smiles and pulls the lollipop out of his mouth, “You know where to find me.”

He leaves the trailer with a warm feeling in his chest and spring in his step. There’s plenty to do before people start entering the grounds. He has a dozen clowns that need to be in make up soon and time waits for no man. 


	53. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> remember kids, wrap before you pack

"Hey, butthead, why are you all the way over there?" Nico says. Will turns around from where he’s examining some of the books on Nico’s shelf (mostly on medieval torture and historic ceremonial burials) and sees Nico reclining on the bed with his arms splayed out.

It’s very rare that Nico is willing to cuddle, so Will decides to make the most of it. He crawls up the bed and into Nico’s waiting arms, one leg between Nico’s, his head resting on the younger’s chest. 

"Hey, yourself." Will mutters between Nico’s collarbones. 

Nico rolls them on their side without another word, tangling their legs hopelessly. Will wraps one arm around Nico’s back to pull them together as close as they can get. Nico makes a sound of approval. 

Nico takes hold of the hair on the back of Will’s head and pulls down enough to tilt Will’s head up so he’s at a better angle to kiss. Will welcomes Nico’s lips on his,  not being able to stop the small sound that escapes him when Nico pulls at Will’s bottom lip with his teeth. 

As their kissing deepens, Will barely hears the sound of the door opening. He can’t really hear anything over the sound of Nico’s breathing and his blood pumping too loud, too hard, in his veins.

The stranger at the door exclaims something and quickly shuts the door with a bang, causing Nico to be startled and practically jump out of Will’s arms. Will manages to keep him from banging his head on the headboard. 

"What the hell was that?" Nico asks. Will shrugs, "Damage control later?"

"Kiss now." Nico agrees and so they come together again. 

A couple hours of cuddling and kissing later, Nico and WIll emerge from the Hades cabin, hand in hand, to go to dinner. As they make their way to the dining pavilion, Will tries to ignore the looks he’s getting from other campers. 

It finally makes sense when Percy approaches them. 

"Hey, guys, congrats." He says. He seems genuinely happy. 

"Thanks?" Nico says, wary and confused. 

"No problem. Just be safe, alright? It’s not like they’re gonna be any Solace-di Angelo babies anytime soon, but wrap your meat up, ok?"

He proceeds to take a box of condoms out of his pocket and hands it over to Will, who feels obligated to take it. 

After saying good-bye, Percy departs. Nico looks like he’s going to be sick. 

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go back to my cabin and never come out again?"

"Honey, I’d love to, but I don’t think Jackson gave us enough condoms to last us that long."

Nico looks like he wants to hit him. 


	54. get him some ibuprofen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will has a headache and everything is incredibly ironic

Nico’s meditation is interrupted by a knock on the door. He grumbles the entire way from his yoga mat to the door, hoping whoever’s behind it has a good reason to disturb his peace. 

It doesn’t end up mattering though, because it’s Will whose behind the door. Will could have the most bullshit reason to come over and annoy Nico and Nico would still let him in. 

It seems serious though. Will is supporting himself against the door frame of Cabin 13, ice pack held up to his forehead, his eyes squinting as he tries to focus on Nico. “Can I come in?” His voice is barely above a whisper. Nico is quick to get out of the way and let the other boy in. 

“Is everything okay?” Nico can’t help the immediate spike of worry that goes through him when Will grits his teeth and shakes his head. “You knows what’s really fucking ironic?”

It must be bad, Nico thinks, if Will is swearing. Nico says he doesn’t know.

“That a child of Apollo is light sensitive and gets headaches from it.” He groans and flips the ice pack over to the cooler side. “Can I bunk here? My cabin is too bright and too noisy.”

“Of course,” Nico says. He helps guide Will through the cabin to the bedroom and plops Will down on the bed. As Will kicks off his shoes, Nico lowers the blinds and shuts the curtains. “Is there anything you need?” Nico whispers to Will. He thinks Will might nod but its hard to tell in the darkness of the room. “Can you come and cuddle me?”

Nico eases himself on the bed as not to jostle Will too much. He takes the ice pack from Will and sets it on the floor, deciding not to worry about the wet spot it will make. They settle so Will is lying on top of Nico, arms wrapped around Nico’s waist and his face buried in Nico’s neck. 

“Did you take something for the headache?” Nico asks. He feels Will nod into his neck. “Thank you for taking care of me,” the son of Apollo says.

It’s not a problem,  _caro_ , Nico thinks. As way of answer, he turns his head and presses a kiss to Will’s forehead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scientific fun fact: people with blue eyes are more likely to be light sensitive than people with brown eyes!


	55. hot for teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> psssh what captain america reference what are you talking about

His class gives him a weird look when he comes in and sits down at the piano. Choir kids are always big on gossip, but now they look like the cats that got the cream. Will is only a tad worried about his reputation.

“So,” Mary, a soprano naturally, says when he sits down, “How’s Mr. di Angelo doing?”

“Woah, where did this come from?” He says. All of his kids look at him in earnest, “What do you mean what? Mr. Solace, don’t you and Mr. di Angelo, like…” Tyler, a baritone, trails off to look at Will like he has three heads. 

“You two fondue!” A girl shrieks from the alto section. He can’t figure out who it is, but he thinks it’s Daisy.

“We…Nico and I—” He tries to amend. Just because he likes  _talking_  to the Italian teacher doesn’t mean  _anything._

“Oooo, Nico!” The whole class croons.

“We do not  _fondue_ , whatever the hell that means to you kids nowadays. We’re colleagues. That’s it. So I don’t want to hear anything else about it.”

“William and Nico sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love—,”

Will doesn’t like to admit it, but it’s the most enthusiasm he’s ever seen a class put into a song.

Lunch rolls around and he finds himself being accompanied by Nico di Angelo, the Italian teacher, and he digs his BLT out of his lunch box. 

“ _Ciao,_ Will. You know, I heard the funniest thing from Daisy Huntington today? We apparently  _fondue_ , and I was wondering what that meant to you Americans because last I heard that was cheese and bread.” Nico says, his chin propped up on one hand. The look on his face tells Will he knows exactly what’s going on, but just wants to see the choir director go as red as the tomato on his sandwich.

“It…It would seem as though our students think…we’re involved.” Will says, definitely red and definitely not looking Nico in the eye. 

“I’d hate to disappoint.” Nico says in a hushed tone so the nosy old secretary who works in the front office can’t hear. 

Will feels his neck pop, he looks up so fast. “So. Drinks, maybe?”

“A drink would be nice. Would Saturday at seven work?”

Will nods. He usually feels tongue-tied around the European and this isn’t helping.

Nico simply smiles and goes to unpack his lunch. However, the foot in the expensive Italian loafer that slips between Will’s own doesn’t go unnoticed. Or unappreciated.


	56. faster than the speed of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> power outage au

“Glow stick?” Will offered, “Might make this a little more bearable.”

Nico took the tube of glowing plastic from Will and hung it around his neck by the cord it came with. “Where in my father’s name did they find these?”

Will shrugged, “Dunno exactly. Somewhere in the back closet of the Big House. They might not be non-toxic so—,”

“I’ll try to refrain from ingesting them.” Nico deadpanned. Will laughed and sat down next to Nico on the stoop of Cabin 13. The July night was uncomfortably warm and Nico was seriously missing his AC. The only cabin that hadn’t been affecting by the grid blowing to smithereens in the Stymphalian bird attack was Cabin 9, and they were packed to the brim with Aphrodite kids trying to keep their hair from frizzing up. 

“Any word from Leo?” Will asked. Even though he was warm (son of Apollo and all) Nico didn’t mind him being close on the hot night. He laid his head on Will’s shoulder, “Not that I’ve heard. Last I saw him he looked frantic, so I’m sure he has some kind of plan.”

Will was silent for a few minutes. He look Nico’s hand in his and traced patterns along the back of it. “It’s kind of nice though, the quiet.”

“’S dark though.” Nico said, “Not too crazy about that.”

“I forgot about your nyctophobia, hon. I’m sorry.” Will moved his arm to wrap it around Nico’s shoulders. Nico was content with that, and cuddled into Will further. “It’s not that big of a deal, and you don’t have to use fancy words to say I’m afraid of the dark.”

“What if I want to use big words?” Will said, teasing.

Nico lifted his head, “Then maybe I’ll have to shut you up.”

He scooted closer to the blond so he could slot his lip’s over Will’s. Will made a happy noise of contentment in the back of his throat. 

“I think I could deal with being quiet if it always started like that.” Will said. Nico laughed softly against his mouth, “You’re blushing. Your freckles are glowing.”

Will pulled away abruptly, “Are they really.? Oh my gods, I hate it when this happens.”

“I dunno. It’s cute.”

“I’m not cute,” Will said, covering his freckled cheeks with his hands, “I’m certifiably adorable.”

“I can work with certifiably adorable.” Nico said. He curled back into Will’s side as the blond kept rubbing at his cheeks to get the blush to go away. “We could always go somewhere where there is light?” Will offered.

Nico raised an eyebrow, “Will Solace, are you actually  _condoning_  the use of shadow travel?”

Will shrugged, “Don’t tell anyone.”

Nico laughed again, “Fair enough. How does Paris sound?”

“I hope you mean the one in France, because the one in Texas isn’t as impressive.”

Nico grabbed his hand, “We can go to France and swing back for tacos later.”

“Fair enough,” Will echoed as they both stood, “City of Light, here we come.”


	57. not so dangerous strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> remember kids don't take candy from strangers

Will had decided he was never going on an out of country vacation ever again. He would pacify himself with Disney World and the Grand Canyon for the rest of his life. This was a nightmare. Rome was a nightmare.

He wasn’t entirely sure how no one died with the traffic patterns in the city. No crosswalks. People came and went as they pleased. He’d been honked at by some guy on a moped when trying to get to the other side of the street.

The best part was was that the street signs were  _incredibly_  confusing, and Will, who was used to the orderly city blocks of America, was completely and utterly lost. He was supposed to meet his family at a cafe right near the Colosseum, but they could be in Antarctica for all Will knew. He was completely and utterly lost.

He’d tried talking to some of the natives of the city, but that had just gotten him some disgruntled looks and a lot of swearing. The only people who’d spoken any English was a German tourist couple and their directions had only confused Will more. 

Having given into fate, Will plopped down at an outdoor cafe table and groaned. Maybe he’d go back to their hotel and take a shower and a nap. That was, of course, if he could find his way back to their hotel. 

“ _Scusi_?” A voice from behind him asked, “Sir, are you alright?”

Sweet, blessed English. Will turned around to see a man dressed in jeans and a black button down with two buttons undone smiling at him. He was very attractive. Dark hair and eyes with the longest eyelashes Will had ever seen on a man. His skin was a deep olive color. His expression was friendly, but there was a tinge of worry in his features. God, was Will really that pathetic? Probably. 

“No,” Will said, “I am very,  _very_  lost.”

The man slid into the chair across from him and clasped his hands together on the table, “Where are you trying to go?”

“The Colosseum.” Will said, “And the only people who’ve given me any sort of direction were some German tourists.”

The man laughed, “They probably think they know the city better than we do. I am Nico, by the way.”

“Will.” Will said. And then, “Do you think you could give me directions?”

“I can give you more than directions,” Nico said, “I’ll take you there myself. I have business on that side of the city anyways.”

“Wait,” Will said, “Really?” He knew to be careful of people though, especially charming Italian men in shirts that were open too low and smiles that were too wide. “What do you want?” Will asked, his look shrewd. 

Nico laughed again, throwing his head back this time. “You are wise to be careful, especially these days. My payment? Hm, how about dinner? I will pay.”

Will blinked several times, confused. This handsome stranger wanted to have dinner with him? 

Nico’s smile shrunk. He cleared his throat, “Sorry, was that too forward?”

“Yes, I mean, no, ah,” Will stuttered, “I would like to have dinner with you. Yes.”

Nico’s smile tugged back at the corner of his lips, “ _Perfetto_. Follow me then, Will.”

Will took the proffered arm and followed him though the streets of Rome.


	58. Op. 66: Waltz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ok, so first, I am a dancer, so I looooove dancer aus.

Will, even if he didn’t have the class schedule memorized, would always know when classes for the day ended. He could hear the groans from the students as they left class and stretched their sore, overworked muscles. His room wasn’t far from the studio rooms and more often than not, Will’s room was the first stop many dancers made after four-hour classes. 

Once such dancer was Nico di Angelo. 

He was so incredibly talented. Being an employee of the dance studio meant Will got free tickets to every show. He’d seen Nico shine as the prince in Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. The Italian dancer was long, graceful lines. His dark hair always lit up like black silk under the stage lights. 

He came to Will most afternoons after practice ended. A few months ago, he’d pulled a lat in his back and needed it rolled out consistently. Nico could get knots in his muscles like Will couldn’t believe. 

“ _Ciao_ , Will,” he said as he entered the room, “It’s not nearly as bad today as it usually it.”

The head of the studio, Madame Lupa, liked to say she’d gotten Nico specially imported straight from Italy. It was always said in a joking manner, but Will could believe it. He knew Nico was from Venice and his skill was obvious. 

“Good,” Will said, “That means its healing then.” 

Nico hopped up onto the table in the center of the room after he dropped his back by the door. “Pity,” Nico said, getting comfortable, “I enjoy our afternoons together.”

Will was glad his was digging through the closet for the foam roller he wanted and Nico couldn’t see his face. Will could feel the heat of his blush spread over his cheeks. That was the last thing he needed, to be seen blushing like a school girl over an attractive European dancer. 

When Will turned around, Nico was shirtless. That always took some getting used to. It wasn’t like it was a new occurrence. Nico divested himself of a shirt every time they did this, but that didn’t mean Will didn’t find it any less shocking. 

Nico was built lithely. He was all muscle but wasn’t overly buff like a body builder. However, you could still see all the lines of his back and chest muscles. He had abs you could do your laundry on. And as someone who had seen Nico in a pair of tights, Will was certain Nico could crush a melon between his thighs. He wasn’t sure if that scared him or turned him on, or maybe a bit of both.

“Lie down, please,” Will said. Nico flipped over onto his stomach and Will got on Nico’s right to roll the muscle out. The dancer groaned a bit when his latissimus started to give. Will grit his teeth and willed away his rapid reddening. 

Lucky for Will, Nico kept most of his sounds to himself for the rest of the session. Still, it was hard enough because Nico’s skin was strong and warm against Will’s hands and he could feel the muscles moving in Nico’s back.

“You know,” Nico said, when Will had put the roller away, “I feel like I hardly know you.”

“I’m your physical therapist,” Will said plainly. 

Nico rolled his eyes, “Really, I had no idea. C’mon, I know you don’t have an appointment after this. Come get a coffee with me”

The look of shock must’ve been plain on Will’s face. “Ah..”

“Please, Will, I see the way you look at me. Damn, I don’t blame you. But really, I would like to get a cup of coffee with you.”

“And we could talk about all the exercises you can do to keep that lat in good shape.” Will deadpanned.

Nico grinned, wolfish and not unlike Madame Lupa did sometimes. “I would prefer a demonstration.”

This time, Will didn’t even try to hide his blush. He grabbed his keys and grumbled, “Fine, but you’re paying.”


	59. Beans and Leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> friends-to-boyfriends and Nico thinks he's cool. also anyone who says they like their coffee black is probably lying.

Nico drinks his coffee black.

When Will first discovers this, his immediate thought is Nico only drinks his bitter bean juice without milk or sugar because it makes him cool or something. Nico is surprisingly aware of those kinds of things. 

It's not until several months of knowing one another that Will finds out the truth. 

Nico, no surprise, is more or less nocturnal. His closest relative after Hazel is probably a bat. So when Nico is forcibly dragged from bed--which is anytime before two in the afternoon--by Will, or Hazel or Percy-and-Jason, the first thing Nico does is make himself a cup of coffee. 

"When I'm that groggy, I don't even taste it." Nico tells Will one morning at about ten. The only reason he's up at such an early hour is that Nico has to cover one of Percy's classes in thirty minutes. 

"Really?" Will asks. The son of Apollo feels great. He was up at six with the sun--his first glass of OJ was hours ago.

Nico nods. He's actually looking a little more awake now that he's halfway through his second cup of coffee and the muffin Will had snagged him from breakfast at eight that morning. 

"At this point, it's a caffeine delivery mechanism."

Will buys him a lot of novelty mugs for his birthday and Christmas from there on out. If gross, black coffee is Nico's "caffeine delivery mechanism" of choice, it's at least going to come in a nicer container than a chipped white mug. 

(Will still doesn't know why Nico can't just have a 5-Hour Energy and  _love himself_.)

Nico collects a Jack Skellington mug, a mug with little glow-in-the-dark skulls all over it, one with the Italian and Venetian flags on it (at first purely as a joke gift, but it's quickly one of Nico's favorites) and finally one with a floral design. The last one makes the son of Hades look a grunge-hipster-wannabe but somehow, he pulls it off. 

It's not until they start dating that Nico finds out Will's beverage preferences.

"Never was a coffee person," Will says as they walk out of a Starbucks in Manhattan, hand-in-hand. It's become one of their frequent date spots because it's close to camp and Nico can easily get his caffeine fix.

Now that it's starting to cool of, Will doesn't feel like ordering a berry refresher anymore. Nico went with his classic  _caffé americano_ (no matter the weather) and Will decided to order a chai tea latte with skim milk. Nico had taken notice. 

"That doesn't surprise me though," Nico says, sounding pensive, "Whenever I offer you coffee you dump like half the sugar pot into it." He pauses as they wait to cross the street and head to Central Park, "You know, you could've just told me you don't like coffee."

Will finds himself blushing and it's not just because of the November chill. "Didn't want to seem rude," he mumbles into the collar of his down vest.

Nico rolls his eyes in that loving but exasperated way of his and drops the subject.

The next time Will goes over to Nico's cabin to spend some time with his boyfriend, Nico doesn't offer him a cup of coffee. Instead, Nico reaches on his tip toes to grab something off the high shelf of a cabinet in his kitchenette. 

In his hands his a box of herbal tea and a Rapunzel mug. 

He's embarrassed, Will realizes, when Nico pushes the box and mug into Will's hands with a quiet, "Your siblings said this was a kind you liked."

It's definitely a kind he likes and the mug is cute too. Nico knows him so well. 

His boyfriend is still standing there awkwardly with the tips of his ears bright red. That won't do, so Will puts down his gifts and sweeps Nico into a hug. The startled boy squirms for a minute before getting comfortable. 

"You're cute, Nico. Thank you."

"Mm, I'm death and destruction. I'm not  _cute._ "

"Adorable," Will amends.

Nico makes a face, but pulls away to make Will a cup of tea anyways.


	60. roadtrip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> now it's Nico's turn to be lost in America

The sound of a motorcycle rumbles outside the B&B. It’s odd, Will thinks, because whenever there’s one motorcycle, there’s usually ten more. But the engine is a lone sound and shuts off abruptly. Two minutes later and the front door swings open. 

The figure that walks through the door is anything but what Will expects the biker to be. Will expected a buff guy well over six feet with tattoo sleeves and an unfortunate combination of denim, leather and too much chest hair. 

He’s got a deep tan and dark curls and is dressed in black jeans, a grey v-neck (with a  _tasteful_  amount of chest hair) and combat boots. A dark jacket hangs low around his waist. He looks confused, and a little nervous as he looks around the B&B. After a second or so, the stranger’s eyes lock on Will behind the counter.

“Um,  _Ciao_ , I mean. Hello.” The man says when he walks over to where Will is. His accent catches Will off guard, but not in a bad way. It sounds European and in a world of Southern drawl, the accent grabs Will’s attention and makes him freeze for a second. 

“Um..” Will says, equally articulate, “Can I help you?”

“ _Si_ ,” He says, “I’m, well you can probably guess, a tourist, and I’m unfortunately very, very lost.”

“You’re really not from around here, are you, darlin’?”

The man shakes his head, “No, Italy actually. I’m Nico, by the way.”

“Will,” Will offers, “Where are you trying to go?”

“Houston?” Nico says, “I think? I’m not sure. My phone doesn’t have international data and American addresses generally confuse me.”

“Houston?” Will says incredulously, “You’re in Austin, hon. Houston is practically three hours away.”

Nico groans. He rests his forearms on the pine desk and lets his head fall forward. “Really?  _Dio_ , how did I screw up so much? And why is everything in America so far apart?”

Will shrugs, “That might just be Texas for you.”

“Just my luck then. If I leave now I won’t make my hotel reservation, will I?” 

Will shakes his head, “Probably not. We have a phone you can use though, if you need to call anyone. And, well, this is a B&B–,”

“B and…B?” Nico asks. His head tilts to the side like a confused puppy and Will finds it endearing.

“Bed and Breakfast,” Will amends, “And, well, you’re welcome to stay in my–I mean, our, um, one of our beds and then have breakfast?” It’s painfully awkward, Will realizes as soon as the sentence comes out of his mouth. Nico laughs though, probably just because he feels bad. There’s a cute quirk to his smile that Will thinks is genuine.

“Well then, I’d be happy to stay in your bed, or one of them anyways.” 

Ok, that was definitely on purpose. Will blushes a little and slides over the guest book, “Here you go then.”

Nico takes the pen and signs his name. When he pays and Will gives him his room key, something on the merchant copy of the receipt catches his eye. It’s a European phone number and a message that reads:  _You’re welcome to my bed and to join me for breakfast, caro._


	61. inconvenienced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico twists an ankle. Everyone is kind of pissy at one another.

Since, of course, Nico has to be difficult, they come to a compromise. Bridal style is “too degrading” says Nico, so the two of them awkwardly manage piggy back position. 

It’s needlessly difficult, not because Nico is necessarily heavy, but because he’s long and lean and not that much shorter than Will. Not anymore, anyways. Also, the from lava wall is a long walk to the infirmary. Will wishes the Fates could’ve been at least a little kinder and let Nico twist his ankle a little closer to medical help. 

“This is embarrassing,” Nico says. He sounds more annoyed than actually embarrassed. Will selfishly doesn’t feel to bad for him. Yeah, a twisted ankle sucks but Nico sounds more inconvenienced than hurt so Will doesn’t waste energy on worrying about his boyfriend. 

“You’ll live,” Will tells him before hiking Nico higher on his back. “You just need to ice it and take it easy for a few days. I can wrap it up when we get to the infirmary.”

“I could’ve just shadow traveled us there,” Nico says. Will thinks that might be why Nico sounds so annoyed, about being subjected to a clumsy piggy back ride instead of the easy finesse of shadow travel.  _That could also kill him_ , Will thinks sourly.

“You know how I feel about that,” Will says. He keeps plodding towards the infirmary.

“I know,” Nico says a little quieter, “Sorry. I’m...I’m just a piss-poor patient, you know that.” He presses a kiss to the back of Will’s neck as way of apology. 

“Thanks for taking care of me.” Nico says after a few more steps.

“You’re welcome,” Will says. He squeezes Nico’s calves a little closer to him. “Now, how are we going to open the door?”

Nico laughs so hard he snorts and almost falls off Will’s back.


	62. you and i were fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> happy fourth everyone in the US. if not an American citizen, well, sorry.

“You do realize I’m not American, right?” Nico says. He’s sitting to Will’s right, on top of a picnic table that’s in the front yard of the B&B Will’s mother owns. He’s wearing one of Will’s shirts, one Will fit into when he was about twelve: a blue crew-neck with an American flag on it from Old Navy. The decal is a little worn but it’s still clearly the Star-Spangled Banner. Even so, Nico manages to look as un-festive as possible.

“I remember that, yeah.” Will says by the grill. He sticks his spatula under a burger and flips it.

The Fourth of July is one of Will’s favorite holidays, not just because he’s from Texas (though that probably has something to do with it) but because the Fourth of July was always about family and friends and summer for him. His mom always decorated the B&B for the holiday. His dad would usually stop by when he could on the Fourth.

Will’s decked out for the occasion wearing red swim trunks, a white tank top with blue stars on it and a pair of tricolored aviators. His mother also painted an American flag on his face that morning (she offered the same to Nico, who’d politely declined.) Nico told him earlier that he looked like the lovechild of Lady Liberty and George Washington and Will chose to take it as a compliment.

“So why all the fuss over me?” Nico asks. He asks that a lot, but less so than he used to. Will is still trying to get Nico to realize he means something to Will.

“America is still your home, ok? Your family and your friends are here and your life is here. You’re here.” Will knows he sounds kind of like a map at a shopping mall so he shuts up and flips the rest of the burgers.

“Besides,” Will says when he thinks of something else to say, “Even if you say you’re not American, I’m pretty sure you think this country is great.”

Nico shrugs, “That’s true. I am proud to live in a country where I can order a soda bigger than my head.” Will snorts.

Nico stands up on the seat of the picnic table, reaching his arms over his head to stretch before jumping down. He walks over to Will and wraps his arms around Will’s stomach before placing his head in the middle of Will’s back.

“Smells good.” Nico mumbles. Will laughs, “Me or the cooking meat?”

“Both.” Nico says and gets on his toes to be able to kiss the back of Will’s neck.

“I love you, my little carnivore.”

He feels Nico’s grin against his spine, “I love you too, Abraham Lincoln.”

Will groans and elbows his boyfriend in the ribs.


	63. just like a tattoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written by Rach (lol, remember her?)

“Nico,” Will said. Nico muttered something incoherent in response and rolled away from Will. In his new position his bare chest was exposed to Will’s eyes.

“Nico,” Will said again, more persistent this time.

“Will, it’s three am. What do you want?” Nico groaned with his eyes half opened.

Will leaned over and whispered, “I think you know what I want,” seductively into the Italian boy’s ear. Nico turned his head to grin at Will before he pounced at him and pinned him to the bed with his arms above his head. If he wanted he could have the small boy off him in a second, but as soon as Nico lowered his lips to Will’s, that thought went out the window.

Will could melt from the insistence of Nico’s velvety lips on his. Hell, he could hardly form a coherent thought. All that was on his mind was Nico straddling his waist and the lips that seemed to be everywhere at once.

Nico started to trail his kisses down Will’s bare chest, and pushed the sheet back as he traveled further down. Finally he removed Will’s boxers and started to kiss his way back up his leg.

Will moaned as Nico kissed his ankle and then moved up his thighs in the direction Will wanted him to go. He felt Nico stop and sit up straight.

“Nico, don’t stop for the love of the gods…”

“When did you get a tattoo?” Will opened his eyes to a sight that made him growl.

“What are you talking about?” Will asked,

very frustrated Nico had stopped his activities.

“This tattoo right here,” Nico said putting his warm finger on it, “Have you always had this?” The tattoo in question was a small and simple sun - nothing more than a circle with rays radiating out around it.

“Nico can we talk about the tattoo later,” Will begged.

“No. I want to talk about the tattoo now.”

“But it’s sexy time. You can’t stop sexy time for tattoo talk it’s just rude,” Will complained to the boy that sat nestled between his legs. This earned a chuckle from Nico, but he didn’t let the subject drop.

“Fine. And for the record I think you’re trying to kill me,” Will muttered.

“Noted,” Nico said, “ Now the tattoo?”

“I got it when I was 16. It’s a tradition of my cabin to get a sun to prove you’re a real child of Apollo.”

“Sounds more like an Ares tradition,” Nico joked.

“Is that all? Can we get back to what we were doing now?” Will asked.

“And what was that?” Nico asked with dark eyes.

Will grabbed the front of Nico’s shirt and pulled his lips down to his. “I think you know,” he whispered.

And then Nico’s soft lips were everywhere again and Will couldn’t think anymore


	64. Achoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Will fight for the last can of minestrone soup...except not really

“If I wasn’t about to pass out, I’d fight you for it,” Nico says, eyeing the stranger next to him who also had his hand on the last can of minestrone.

“I’m sure if I still gave a fuck about my well-being, I’d be scared.” the stranger says. He looks as bad as Nico feels (and knows he looks). The man is blond and blue-eyed and three-day old scruff on his face, probably about how long he’s been sick. He’s is taller than Nico, and a little broader in the shoulders, but somehow Nico is certain he’s telling the truth. 

“You don’t get sick often, do you?” Nico would find it more amusing if his head wasn’t pounding from the grocery store lights.

“First time in four years,” the man says, “I even got my flu shot.”

“Hell of a lot of good that did you.”

“No kidding,” He sniffs. “I’ll Will, by the way.”

“Nico,” Nico says. They shake their gloved hands before they go back to eyeing the soup. 

“Look, dude, I don’t want it that much, you can have it.” Will says. Nico shakes his head (instantly regrets it, too), “No, no, I don’t, either.”

He sighs and thinks for a minute. They must both look like idiots, standing in the soup aisle, arms length away and sizing one another up. 

“You know, I think I have a better idea, if you’d be up for it.” Nico offers. He could make a call to Hazel…he’s just imagining a bowl of jambalaya right now, damn.

Will blinks once, then twice and says, “As long as it’s hot, I don’t care.”

They end up sitting in a booth across from one another, as Hazel brings them bowls of hot jambalaya. It’s not the most romantic first date Nico’s ever had, what with the snotty napkins scattered between them, but Will is pleasant company. 

And the jambalaya is hot enough to clear up his sinuses a bit.


	65. A little R&R

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will comes home from work tired and M rated, yeah

Will’s feet hurt. 

He kicks off his Crocs by the front door and peels off his socks. His backpack hits the floor with a dull thud. Will sighs, not able to be bothered with making sure nothing valuable inside broke. 

“That you,  _caro?”_  Nico’s voice sounds heavenly after a long shift at the hospital. 

“Yeah,” Will calls, “You in the living room?”

“Yeah, come here and I’ll rub your back, yeah?”

That’s plenty to entice Will. He finds Nico sprawled on the couch, watching TLC in his Batman pajama pants. Nico sits up and turns off the TV when Will plops himself on the couch next to him. Without a word, Nico maneuvers to sit behind Will and wrap his legs around Will’s waist from behind. 

“Off please,” Nico says, tugging on the green scrub shirt Will is wearing. He pulls it over his head without a word and drops it on the carpet in front of him. 

Will is a little surprised when he hears a cap pop. The smell of lavender massage oil fills Will’s nose. He smiles. “You were planning this?”

“Figured you might need this after that shift.” Nico says simply. He warms the oil between his hands and starts to rub out the knots in Will’s shoulders. Will sighs as Nico traces over his back and plays connect-the-dots with the freckles across his shoulder blades. 

Nico rubs at a particularly bad knot next to Will’s spine with his knuckles and Will can’t really help the moan that escapes him. He feels like total putty in his boyfriend’s hands. 

As Nico massages Will’s back, he starts to leave warm, open-mouthed kisses to the back of Will’s neck and long the vertebrae there. Will can feel Nico’s hands wrap around his middle one coming to trace the waistband of his scrub bottoms and the other circling a nipple. 

“Can I?” Nico says against Will’s neck and Will can tell the little shit is smiling. 

“Yeah,” Will says shakily. He exhales slowly as Nico pinches his left nipple in one hand and slips the other into the front of his boxers. 

Another moan escapes him as Nico’s warm, slick hand encircles the base of his cock.  _God_ , did he miss Nico today. 

Nico starts with firm strokes, up and down and occasionally swiping over the head. Will jolts in Nico’s arms the first time he does this, but Nico keeps him grounded with the legs wrapped around Will’s waist. 

“You need this, don’t you?” Nico says in a breathy little voice near Will’s ear. He can’t form a full sentence, not when Nico is twisting his wrist like that and playing with his nipples at the same time. 

“Hnn,” Will articulates and groans, “Nico…Nico,  _please.”_

 _“Shh,_  baby it’s alright. You can come, this is all about you.” 

Will arches up and comes, his hips stuttering into the warm fist Nico makes around his cock. 

He comes back to himself slowly, registering that Nico produced a tissue from the side table and is cleaning them both up. 

“Thank you,” Will says, “I love you.”

Nico chuckles and removes himself from behind Will. “You’re welcome. You want dinner?”

Will nods, “Just wash your hands first.” 

Nico snorts and heads for the kitchen.


	66. t-shirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trans boy Nico and a sleepover

The first time they share a bed, Nico is nervous. Having Will over for a sleepover is great…until it isn’t. 

It’s not that Will doesn’t know. He’s fine with it, and very supportive. Nico _knows_  Will loves him for him. (And if he hadn’t, Reyna had been waiting on the side lines with a billy club and a taste for revenge.)

But there’s something very intimate about having Will over and being with him without a binder on. 

Nico picks out the loosest shirt he owns to wear to bed. 

When it’s time to change in pajamas and crawl into bed, Nico and Will take turns using the bathroom. Nico goes second and has to calm himself down before he can twist the door handle to enter the bedroom. 

His breasts are pretty small to begin with, but knowing they’re there makes him feel itchy and weird…and it’s even worse now that Will can see him. 

Will, who looks at him when he enters the room, gives him a sunny smile that threatens to split his face in half. He opens his arms out for a hug, and Nico hesitantly accepts. 

“How do you feel, hon?” Will asks. He hefts Nico into his lap and holds him around the waist.

Nico shrugs, “Weird.”

“Good weird or bad weird?” Will asks. Nico shrugs again. 

Will rubs Nico’s back through his shirt in slow circles. After a minute or two, Will says, “I never realized how much your spine sticks out.”

For some reason, this breaks the tension in his body and Nico lets out a few giggles. Will smiles again and Nico feels a happy contentment settle in his stomach. 

“Do you want to lie down now?” Will asks. 

Nico nods, and so they get under the covers. After a moment’s hesitation, Nico turns to face his boyfriend and cuddle into his chest. Nico can feel his breasts pressed against Will’s pecs and suddenly he’s tense again.

“Is this weird for you?” Nico asks in a quiet voice. 

Will’s arm wraps around Nico’s waist and pulls him closer. “Nah,” Will says and rests his chin on the top of Nico’s head, “Cuddling with my boyfriend is never weird. Is this weird for you?”

Nico thinks about that, and about the warm feeling he has returning to his stomach. 

“No,” He says, “It’s not.”


	67. 6 dollars 59 cents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an AU set at Starbucks

“Um…excuse me?” 

Nico looks up from his textbook and turns to look at the man standing next to the secluded table. Nico chose this table for the exact reason that he just wanted some peace and quiet, but, no that wasn’t going to happen apparently. 

“Can I…help you?” Nico asks. He’s more then a little confused; he knows he’s not the most approachable-looking person and plus there are plenty of other people to bother in this Starbucks. 

“Yeah! Yeah you can actually,” the man says. Nico takes a better look at him; he’s dressed in a hoodie with the name of the university Nico goes to across the chest, jeans, and a grey down vest. “I need a really huge favor.”

His blue eyes go wide as he stares at Nico and Nico finds heat rising to his face. “Oh, I’m Will Solace by the way, sorry. That’s probably really weird having some nameless stranger come over and ask for a favor.”

“Yeah,” Nico draws out, but he shakes the hand Will offers him, “Nico di Angelo. And Jesus Christ, sit down, people are staring.”

Will swings his backpack off of his shoulders and plops down in the chair opposite Nico. “Ok, so my ex-boyfriend keeps calling me like crazy and I was just wondering if you could pretend to be my boyfriend so my ex-boyfriend will stop calling me. Please.” 

“Can you not block his number like a regular person?” Nico asks. Will sits up a little straighter in his chair and nods enthusiastically, “Be-lieve me, I’ve tried. Everything but a restraining order, that is.” He chuckles at his own joke.

Nico sighs, “Ok, fuck it, and let’s say if I do chose to help you out, what do I get in return?”

“Self-satisfaction?” Will offers.

“Uh-uh, you go up to that counter and buy me my seven dollar drink order.”

“Oooh,” Will smiles and Nico tries not to focus on the way his eyes crinkle when he does that, “Alright, so like a real coffee date, I got–,”

“No!” Nico interrupts, “I mean, no, not like that, I just want my fucking coffee. Give me your goddamn phone.”

As soon as Nico holds his hand out, Will’s phone starts to blare some Taylor Swift song, the repetitive one about shaking. 

“Speak of the Devil.” Will says before handing the phone over.

Nico answers and holds the phone up to his ear. “Will, baby! I’m so glad you finally decided to answer me! I wanna–,”

“Look, asshole,” Nico tries to sound as intimidating as possible, like when he talks to his sister’s boyfriend, “This is Will’s boyfriend. And he wants you to stop calling him. It’s creepy and weird.”

Will’s face lights up as Nico starts talking, so Nico diverts his eyes to keep from blushing. “Hey, wait a minute, who do you think you are, bud, telling me–,”

“Will’s over you  _bud,_ he thinks your hair is bad and your breath stinks and he never wants to hear from you again. So fuck the fuck off and leave him the hell alone.”

Nico angrily ends the call and shoves the phone back at Will, “There you go, coffee now please.”

“Dude, that was awesome.”

“Coffee.” Nico insists and tells Will his order. 

When Will returns with his drink, he places it in front of Nico. “You were wrong, it’s only six dollars and 59 cents.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “Here, give me your phone again.”

“Why?” Will says, going to get it out of his pocket. 

“Well, if your ex calls you again, you might need my services. Again. I should probably give you my number. Will grins and hands Nico the phone, “Better safe than sorry.”


	68. FRIENDS reruns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is a dork and Will is the only one who knows it

“Ok, I know you guys are like, totally cute and everything, but I can’t believe you don’t find him scary at least a little.” Lacy says as they watch the sparring in the sword arena. 

Will knows Lacy means well. Everyone who talks to him about Nico does, but sometimes, he doesn’t know where they get this stuff from. 

Because, sure, Nico isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but he isn’t something out of an  _Insidious_  movie either. No one can blame him if Will doesn’t find a 5-feet-and-a-half, grumpy, Italian with an affinity for Mythomagic a terrifying thing of nightmares. 

Will’s had dance parties with Nico at two am to 90′s boy-band music, followed by long pillow fights and brownie sundaes. The son of Hades likes  _Pirates of the Caribbean_  and  _FRIENDS_  re-runs. Hell, Will has lip-synced the entirety of _Bohemian Rhapsody_  with Nico while wearing Halloween socks and a Batman t-shirt.

Will focuses back on the sparring in the arena before giving Lacy an answer. Nico is decked out in his black armor, stalking his prey which happens to be one of Lacy’s siblings. 

“I dunno,” Will shrugs as Nico down below disarms his opponent and slams them to the ground, “I guess I just see him differently than you do.”


	69. sparring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's swords and things get heated.

“You know, I wasn’t built for this type of thing,” Will grumbles. He’s been complaining for the past half hour, starting when Nico had begun to strap the son of Apollo into the heavy bronze armor, and so Nico’s been doing his best to ignore the complaints.

(Honestly, how Will can complain when Nico’s hands are roaming over him and making sure the armor is secure, Nico doesn’t know.)

“You keep telling me that, but I want you to be able to defend yourself in close combat.” Nico says, sighing to himself. He digs out a practice sword from the bin that’s kept in the sword arena. It’s not balanced for Nico specifically, but it should work for Will. Will’s a little taller, so a longer blade should work better. 

(Nico tries not to think of euphemisms.)

Will’s still grumbling and groaning when Nico hands him his sword. 

“Alright,” Nico begins, drawing his own sword. He’s using a bronze one today, just so that he doesn’t accidentally reap Will’s soul. “You should know the basics from Jackson’s class.”

“Yeah,” Will says, finally nodding and stealing himself for the fight. “Ok, I’m ready.”

“Ok,” Nico echoes, “You thrust, I parry.”

“So just like usual,” Will says, smirking. Nico tries to fight a blush; sometimes Nico forgets that Will’s father is Apollo, but now, there’s no making that mistake. 

Will certainly isn’t the best swordsman Nico’s ever seen, but he isn’t the worst either. He can hold himself for about four minutes before Nico’s disarmed him and backed him up against the side of the arena. 

Will’s chest is heaving, sweating from exertion and the heat trapped by the armor he’s wearing. His baby blue’s are bright and boring into Nico’s eyes. Gods, he’s gorgeous.

By some unspoken mutual decision, they surge forward. There are twin thumps echoing around them as they both drop their swords to the ground. They meet in the middle, lips connecting and sliding, as Nico leans forward to bracket his arms on either side of Will’s head.

“Fuck,” Will groans as they break apart for air, “You know the biggest reason I agreed to this was so I could see you in action. Gods, you’re hot.”

Nico doesn’t even try to fight the blush that creeps up his cheeks this time. “Did you say something about thrusting earlier?”

Will’s head hits the wall of the arena with a dull thump, “Gods, yes. Lead the way.”

They’ll finish the lesson some other time.


	70. pines and needles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry belated Christmas

Nico’s fingers are cold and there are pine needles in his Converse. As he trudges along behind Will, his hands stuck under his arm pits to keep warm, he wishes with all his heart he’d taken up Valdez’s offer of hot chocolate and churros. 

Will, damn him, couldn’t have been having more fun. His tan cheeks are flushed with cold as he skips through the field of Christmas trees and jumps over stumps. He’s bundled up considerably more than Nico is; Will’s wearing a fleece-line flannel shirt under a black down vest and khakis tucked into Wellington boots. 

The grin Will wears, most importantly, is a hundred times brighter than the pale winter sun overhead. 

“Ok, well I think we should head all the way to the back; people probably haven’t picked through there as much so we’re bound to find the perfect tree.” Will says. “You keeping up back there?”

Will stops walking and turns around to face Nico, who knew he was probably the perfect picture of the Grinch. Nico hadn’t celebrated Christmas in a long time, from the winter his sister died to the time he was probably fifteen. And after that, most of his holidays were spent with the Jacksons, and they were Jewish. Christmas had only become a Big Deal again when Nico and Will started dating. 

(Nico had probably eaten a lot more latkes in the last several years than he had Christmas cookies to be perfectly honest.)

Next to the Fourth of July, Christmas is Southern-Boy Baptist-Raised Will Solace’s favorite holiday, so the sudden onslaught of Christmas cheer in Nico’s life after a long time is kind of overwhelming. 

“I’m just…I’m cold.” Nico grumbles, and tried to bury himself further in his leather jacket. 

Will snorts and in an endearing tone goes, “Silly.” He then unwraps his scarf from around his neck and looped it around Nico’s.

“There you go, all better.” Will says. He takes Nico’s cold hands in his own and kisses the tip of Nico’s nose. 

Nico decides he could always blame the flush on his face on the chilly air. 

Together this time they walk towards the back field of Christmas trees. Nico’s cold, thin fingers fit easily in Will’s broad, tanned hands. With his other hand, Will adjusts the grip on the saw they’d been given at the farm’s welcome center. 

“Did you ever have a Christmas tree, Nico? In Italy?”

Nico gives Will a flat look, “Yeah, we had tons of pine trees in Italy, especially Venice.”

“Oh. Yeah, sorry.” Will colors a little a goes quiet. 

Nico rolls his eyes and gives Will a little punch in his upper arm, “They’re more of a Germanic thing I think. Christmas trees have come to Italy by now, I think, but we definitely didn’t have them in the 30s and 40s.”

“What about with your dad? I know sometimes you exchange presents.” 

Nico snorts, “My dad doesn’t want to deal with any more greenery than he has to. Sometimes Hazel and I put ornaments and garland on the poplars, though.”  
They end up facing four rows of tall evergreens, looming in front of them. 

“Ready?” Will asks.

“As I’ll ever be.” Nico says.

It takes them another hour and shivering and shouting across the field to each other and Nico complaining about the cold until both of them are standing in front of a five foot pine tree. 

“You know what I just realized?” Nico says, staring at the pine tree, “What about the dryad?”

“You mean of the pine tree?”

“Yeah,” Nico says, turning to face his boyfriend, “Are we gonna kill a nature spirit by chopping down her tree?”

“No,” Will says, “I looked into it years ago. Pine trees have become a Judeo-Christian thing, and there aren’t any nature spirits in that vein of belief. Thalia was the only pine to have a spirit tied to it.”

“And you found this out how?”

“Katie Gardener. C’mon, isn’t your grandmother technically Demeter?” 

“Don’t remind me,” Nico says. “Ok, so are we cutting this thing down or not?”

Will holds out the saw to him, “Would you like to do the honors? I know how much you like reaping souls and the barbaric killing of innocents.”

Nico rolls his eyes at the grin that’s splitting Will’s face, “Sure, I guess I’ll sacrifice. But if I chop it down, you have to carry it back.”

Throwing his head back, Will laughs and then pretends to flex. “Fair enough.”

When the tree falls to the pine needle-coated ground, Nico stands up from his crouch and smiles at his boyfriend. “Nothing says Merry Christmas like a dying tree.”

Will laughs again and grabs Nico close to kiss his cheek, “Merry Christmas, Nico.”

Nico nuzzles his face into Will’s neck, “Buon Natale, Will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know?  
> We have modern day Christmas trees thanks to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband. He was German, and Christmas trees were originally a German tradition. By bringing them to England, he popularized them in England and later in North America.


	71. First Time in Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baby it's cold outside~ and Will has never seen snow before

Sure, Nico was Italian. He’d grown up in Italy, though he couldn’t remember most of it, and Italy was seen as a pretty warm place.

But he’d seen snow before.

Although unusual, it snowed in Venice; and in the mountains, the Apennines and the Alps, it snowed plenty. And for Hades’ sake, one of Nico’s first memories of America was going to frigid, snowy boarding school in Maine.

In Maine, it snowed _too much_.

So yeah, Nico had seen snow. Been in the snow. Played in the snow. It was pretty, more or less, but after a while—when it iced over and turned black with dirt and soot from the street—it was more of an inconvenience if anything.

One place it didn’t snow? Texas.

Will Solace was a tried-and-true Texan. Born under the flag of the Lone Star State and proudly so. He hadn’t ventured out of the state’s boarders until he was nine years old and headed for Camp Half Blood. Even then, he wasn’t a year-round camper. He always returned home for Texan winters, which were mild and definitely lacking snow.

As it rarely dipped below 65 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter months, of course Will had never seen a white Christmas, or any snow for that matter.

So that’s why Nico was rudely interrupted from his beauty sleep at the ungodly hour of eight in the morning to see Will standing over him, wearing a face splitting grin and practically bursting with excitement.

“Wha’s-goin’ on?” Nico slurred, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

“Nico it’s _snowing_.” Will said, bouncing on the balls of his feet, “It’s really snowing, come on, come see.”

A second later, Nico found himself bodily dragged from the warm comfort of their bed to the window, where Nico could see, yes, it was snowing. Flat, white flakes of the stuff were falling relentlessly from the sky. From what he could see, about two or three inches had already accumulated over the streets, sidewalks, and grassy areas of DC.

The DC apartment was a new thing, they’d only moved in four months ago and it had only really gotten cold in the last two.

“Great.” Nico grunted. Sue him but he was still crabby from getting rudely awakened, “Can I go back to bed now?”

The look Will gave him made it seem like Nico had just told him that Christmas was cancelled or Disney was filing for bankruptcy. “Don’t you want to…go outside?”

Oh, right. This was new for Will. Nico sighed. The things he did for love.

“Ok, yeah, sorry. Give me five minutes to wake up and get dressed. Start some coffee and we can go outside, alright?” Nico said. He leaned up and kissed Will on the corner of his mouth as an apology for earlier.

“Awesome.” Will said, grin returning. He scampered out of the room to get started on getting Nico his caffeine.

Nico took a look in his half of the closet. Even between them, they didn’t have a lot of snow things in the apartment. Hats and coats and gloves sure, but no snow boots or snow pants or thermal shirts. Vaguely, Nico remembered buying a pair of snow boots, but for the life of him couldn’t remember where he put them.

So he stuck to layering. T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweater. Boxers, long underwear (a gift from Sally last Christmas), jeans. Two pairs of socks. A beanie.

Nico, his range of motion limited with all his extra clothes on, waddled into the kitchen and found his boyfriend finishing up the coffee. “Here you are, grumpy-pants.” Will said, not unkindly, as he handed Nico his mug.

Nico did the adult thing and blew his boyfriend a raspberry.

“You’ll probably want to put on an extra pair of socks.” Nico said, “It’s cold outside.”

Ten minutes later, they were walking down the steps of their apartment building to the small courtyard behind the complex. There, a few trees and picnic tables were dotted around the grassy area.

But as of now, everything was covered with a layer of white.

Nico and Will stopped short under the portico that extended off from the building. Just beyond them, the snow was falling.

Carefully, Will leaned down and took off one of his gloves. He pressed his hand into the snow for a few seconds before taking it back and look up at Nico with an intense expression of awe on his face.

“It’s colder than I thought it would be.” Will said. The sheer amount of wonder in his voice made Nico’s breath catch in his chest.

Getting over himself, Nico smiled at his boyfriend and couldn’t help but ask in a sing-song voice, “Do you wanna build a snowman~?”

Will grinned as he stood up, “Fuck off, you know that’s exactly what I want to do.”

There still wasn’t a whole lot of snow on the ground, but half an hour later, they had a decent, three-foot-tall snowman with sticks for arms and pebbles to make up his facial features. Nico even took off his scarf and wrapped it around the snowman’s neck, just to appease Will.

“You happy now?” Nico asked, wrapping his arms around Will’s middle.

“Yes I am. Thank you, darlin’. This is so much cooler than I could’ve imagined. But now I’m starting to get cold.”

Nico grinned and looked up at Will, “I can think of a few ways we could warm up.” Will took the hint, leaning down to kiss Nico, soft and sweet and slow.

“Perfect,” Will said, before kissing Nico again. “But you know what else I want?” Will mumbled against Nico’s lips.

“What?” Nico asked, a little breathless, in between kisses

“Some hot cocoa.”

That stopped Nico cold. “Wow, way to ruin the mood.”

“Oh come on,” Will said, “I see it in all the movies. Snowy day, hot cocoa, cuddling by the fire with you lover. I want that.”

“We don’t have a fireplace.” Nico pointed out. Will pouted, even as he pulled Nico closer to him. “But,” Nico relented, defenseless against The Pout™, “I guess we could pull up some Log TV on my laptop.”

“Thank you, baby.” Will smiled, pressing a kiss to Nico’s forehead.

As they started to make their way back to the door and go inside, Will’s arm wrapped tightly around Nico’s waist. “Best day ever,” Will said, “I always wanted to do this.”

“We’ll have hot cocoa by the fire,” Nico agreed, “But I want my compensation afterwards.”

Will grinned that boy-ish, lopsided smile of his—the one that made Nico’s knees weak and his breath catch, “Wouldn’t dream of denying you anything, darlin’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few quick notes:  
> If I screwed up Italian meteorology, let me know.  
> Also, for everyone who uses Celsius, aka, almost everyone in the world, 65 degrees Fahrenheit is like 18-ish degrees Celsius?  
> Also, if you've never seen Log TV or don't know what it is, it's basically a video recording of a fireplace, you can look it up on YouTube.


	72. Dammit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That freshman 15 man. sucks.

“Dammit. _Dammit_.”

Usually, Will spouting expletives in the early hours of the morning doesn’t warrant Nico’s attention; however, Will had woken up Nico was a lovely bout of morning sex 45 minutes earlier and the younger of the two sees no reason for Will to be so upset. So.

Nico cracks one bleary eye open (they’d closed sometime between his orgasm and when Will had rolled out of bed to get in the shower) and peers down the length of the bed. Will’s standing at the foot, his jeans pulled up his legs and trying desperately to button them. The blond curses again and even jumps a few times to pull his pants farther up his legs (Nico’s been there with his own skinny jeans; he knows that doesn’t really work) but they won’t budge.

Letting this go on for a few more seconds, Nico finally asks in a rough voice, “Y’ok there, Solace?”

Even in the dim light coming in through their blinds, Nico can see Will’s face coloring. “Fine. Just fine.”

“Really,” Nico says. He rolls onto his back, unfortunately fully awake now, and props himself up on his elbows, “Because all that swearing didn’t sound like you’re ok.”

Will sighs and slumps a little bit, sitting heavily on the bed as he does. It makes Nico bounce a little from the force of it. “Mypantswon’tgoon.”

“ _Scusi_?” Nico asks.

Will flops down dramatically (Apollo wasn’t even the god of theater) and ends up buried face-first in the comforter. A bit clearer, Will says again, “My pants won’t go on. They’re too small.”

“Oh,” Nico says. That explained the jumping. “So, big deal? Buy some more and donate the old ones.”

Will suddenly looks up from the comforter, “I’ve weighed 175 pounds since I was _sixteen_. I’ve been able to fit into those jeans for the last _eight years_.”

Oh. _Ohhhh._

“Come here, Will. And lose the pants.” Nico says, patting the pillow beside him. Will stands up long enough to shuck off his pants (a little more forceful than necessary, Nico thinks, but that’s beside the point) before sitting on the bed next to Nico.

Throwing off the covers, Nico crawls over to Will and sits on the blond’s legs. This close, Nico can see that Will is a bit softer, sure. His pectoral muscles aren’t as defined, his stomach isn’t as hard, his hips have a bit more padding. But Will’s arms wrap around Nico’s waist and his hold on Nico is just as strong and warm as it’s always been. Nico takes the time to run his palms over Will’s shoulders before speaking.

“So you’ve gained a little weight. Isn’t that what you were always telling me to do?”

“Yes but you were _underweight_ —,” Will interrupts and Nico puts his finger to Will’s lips to shut him up.

“But _nothing._ ” Nico says, “You’re perfect the way you are, even if you have gained weight because of school or stress or whatever. I certainly don’t mind it, you shouldn’t either.”

For emphasis (and because Will’s a sucker for it), Nico scoots closer and nuzzles his face into Will’s neck, pressing barely-there kisses to the thin skin over Will’s pulse. Will gives a little sigh, sounding more pleased than exasperated, before gently pulling Nico back.

“Ok,” Will says, “Ok, you’re right, I’m being an idiot about this.”

“Damn right,” Nico says, “I _told_ —,”

 Will gives him a _look_ and Nico stops talking.

“But even if I _do_ lose the weight…” He trails off, looking distantly at something over Nico’s left shoulder.

“I’ll love you no matter what, ok?” Nico says, cupping Will’s face and getting his boyfriend to look at him, “When I tell you I love you, it’s unconditional. Remember that.”

Will’s eyes soften, “Thank you, Nico. I love you, too.”

A ghost of a smile dances across Nico’s lips as he leans into Will and lets his boyfriend embrace him. Snuggled and warm, Nico lets his eyes drift shut in the crook of Will’s neck. After a few minutes of this, and Will tracing patterns along Nico’s back, Will says, “I still need to buy pants that fit. If that pair of jeans won’t fit me, none of them will.”

“ _Oh no_ ,” Nico says with a (slightly over-dramatic) sigh, “Whatever shall we do? I guess you’ll just have to walk around without clothes on _all_ day.”

“I liked it better when you were asleep.” Will says, snorting with laughter.

Nico sits up, “Then help tire me out.” He smirks and pulls his laughing boyfriend down to the mattress with him.


	73. 1000 words (spring cleaning)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If a picture is worth 1000 words, a baby picture is worth a million.

Nico has The Box that he doesn’t touch.

His father gave it to him on his 15th birthday (or 85th, depending on how one looked at it, but Nico agrees that time is a man-made construct and ignores it) and told him, quite bluntly, “This is all I have left of our time with Maria.”

Maria. Nico’s _Mama_.

So of course, Nico took The Box and shoved it under his bed with his feelings and the rest of the other junk Nico didn’t feel like compartmentalizing in his brain on a day-to-day basis. And there The Box stayed for a whole year; until Will decided that his boyfriend needed to be introduced to the concept of Spring Cleaning.

With a feather duster in one hand and multi-purpose cleaner in the other, Will invited himself into Cabin 13 and set to work. Nico had long ago learned not to get in his boyfriend’s way.

Bookshelves were dusted, counters wiped down, boxes emptied and moved around. And then Will got to Nico’s bedroom, and discovered The Box.

“You want to go through this one, hon?” Will called to his boyfriend, who was currently in the kitchenette, getting them cold drinks.

“Probably,” Nico called back, “don’t touch my stuff.”

Will disregarded him and touched his stuff anyways. He dusted off the top of the box and found the words “Niccólo di Angelo: 19XX- ” written in neat, Palmer-method cursive. The cardboard lid creaked when Will cracked The Box open.

“Ohmygods are THESE YOUR BABY PICTURES?!” Will was exclaiming before he could reel in his emotions. Nico appeared, quite literally out of the shadows, with two tall glasses of iced tea in his hands and a frown on his face.

“Oh,” he said, “you opened it.”

“Was I not supposed to?” Will asked, ready to apologize about the interference of personal space. Nico only shrugged, “It’s fine I guess, I just never have. It’s all the stuff my dad had left from his time with my mom.”

Will picked up the first photo on the top of the stack of papers in The Box. It was Nico and Bianca, maybe about two and four respectively, seated on the front stoop of a Venetian town house with only semi-serious expressions on their faces. It took Will a minute to realize that the man sitting between them was actually the Lord of the Underworld.

“It’s weird, seeing your dad…”

“So normal looking?” Nico finishes for him, “yeah, I know. It freaks me out when he and Persephone sometimes go to Starbucks in Santa Monica together.”

Will giggled, “You were a cute kid, though.”

“Are you saying I’ve only gotten less cute?” Nico asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Of course not,” Will answered, “You’re like a fine wine, better with age.”

“You hate wine.”

“It’s rotten grape juice,” Will confirmed, “But I like you. Do you want to go through this box or shall I put it back where it came from?”

Nico sighed, “Might as well, I should probably know the rest of its contents.”

“Could be some good blackmail material in here.” Will suggested.

“I hate you.” Nico groused, not really upset but having a reputation to uphold. (He however completely ruined this reputation by pecking Will’s check before crawling between his legs to recline comfortably against his boyfriend’s chest.)

“Comfortable?” Will asked, amused.

“Sure.” Nico said. Together, cleaning forgotten, they dive into the contents of the box.

(And Will was right, there were too many cute baby pictures in there for Nico to ever be considered scary again.)


End file.
